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William James

Philosopher

William James was an American philosopher and psychologist widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of the 19th century. His work in pragmatism and his exploration of human consciousness, belief, and experience reshaped the fields of psychology and philosophy. The following quotes reflect his profound insights on the nature of reality, the power of belief, and the importance of living a life rooted in practical experience and meaning.

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
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Topic: Motivational
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
From The Will to Believe : and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy
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Topic: Inspirational
In order to disprove the assertion that all crows are black, one white crow is sufficient.
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Topic: Religion
Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.
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Topic: Happiness, Motivational, Philosophical
So you see that the process of education, taken in a large way, may be described as nothing but the process of acquiring ideas or conceptions, the best educated mind being the mind which has the largest stock of them, ready to meet the largest possible variety of the emergencies of life. The lack of education means only the failure to have acquired them, and the consequent liability to be 'floored' and 'rattled' in the vicissitudes of experience.
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Topic: Education
Belief creates the actual fact.
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Topic: Inspirational
The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human can alter his life by altering his attitude.
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Topic: Inspirational
It does not follow, because our ancestors made so many errors of fact and mixed them with their religion, that we should therefore leave off being religious at all. By being religious we establish ourselves in possession of ultimate reality at the only points at which reality is given us to guard. Our responsible concern is with our private destiny, after all.
From The Varieties of Religious Experience
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Topic: Philosophical, Religion
Wisdom is seeing something in a non-habitual manner.
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Topic: Philosophical
Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.
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Topic: Motivational
the exclusive worship of the bitch-goddess sucess is our national disease
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Topic: Philosophical
All religions and spiritual traditions begin with the cry "Help!
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Topic: Religion
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
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Topic: Philosophical
if you can change your mind, you can change your life.
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Topic: Motivational
Pragmatism asks its usual question. "Grant an idea or belief to be true," it says, "what concrete difference will its being true make in anyone's actual life? How will the truth be realized? What experiences will be different from those which would obtain if the belief were false? What, in short, is the truth's cash-value in experiential terms?
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Topic: Philosophical
Metaphysics means nothing but an unusually obstinate effort to think clearly. The fundamental conceptions of psychology are practically very clear to us, but theoretically they are very confused, and one easily makes the obscurest assumptions in this science without realizing, until challenged, what internal difficulties they involve.
From The Principles of Psychology: Volume 1
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Topic: Philosophical
Your hopes, dreams and aspirations are legitimate. They are trying to take you airborne, above the clouds, above the storms, if you only let them.
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Topic: Motivational
If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.
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Topic: Religion
Philosophy lives in words, but truth and fact well up into our lives in ways that exceed verbal formulation.
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Topic: Philosophical
There is something almost shocking in the notion of so chaste a function carrying this Kantian hurlyburly in her womb.
From The Principles of Psychology: Volume 1
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Topic: Philosophical
Good-humor is a philosophic state of mind; it seems to say to Nature that we take her no more seriously than she takes us. I maintain that one should always talk of philosophy with a smile.
From The Varieties of Religious Experience
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Topic: Funny, Philosophical
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Motivational
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
From The Will to Believe : and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
In order to disprove the assertion that all crows are black, one white crow is sufficient.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Happiness, Motivational, Philosophical
So you see that the process of education, taken in a large way, may be described as nothing but the process of acquiring ideas or conceptions, the best educated mind being the mind which has the largest stock of them, ready to meet the largest possible variety of the emergencies of life. The lack of education means only the failure to have acquired them, and the consequent liability to be 'floored' and 'rattled' in the vicissitudes of experience.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Education
Belief creates the actual fact.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human can alter his life by altering his attitude.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
It does not follow, because our ancestors made so many errors of fact and mixed them with their religion, that we should therefore leave off being religious at all. By being religious we establish ourselves in possession of ultimate reality at the only points at which reality is given us to guard. Our responsible concern is with our private destiny, after all.
From The Varieties of Religious Experience
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical, Religion
Wisdom is seeing something in a non-habitual manner.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Motivational
the exclusive worship of the bitch-goddess sucess is our national disease
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
All religions and spiritual traditions begin with the cry "Help!
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
if you can change your mind, you can change your life.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Motivational
Pragmatism asks its usual question. "Grant an idea or belief to be true," it says, "what concrete difference will its being true make in anyone's actual life? How will the truth be realized? What experiences will be different from those which would obtain if the belief were false? What, in short, is the truth's cash-value in experiential terms?
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
Metaphysics means nothing but an unusually obstinate effort to think clearly. The fundamental conceptions of psychology are practically very clear to us, but theoretically they are very confused, and one easily makes the obscurest assumptions in this science without realizing, until challenged, what internal difficulties they involve.
From The Principles of Psychology: Volume 1
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
Your hopes, dreams and aspirations are legitimate. They are trying to take you airborne, above the clouds, above the storms, if you only let them.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Motivational
If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
Philosophy lives in words, but truth and fact well up into our lives in ways that exceed verbal formulation.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
There is something almost shocking in the notion of so chaste a function carrying this Kantian hurlyburly in her womb.
From The Principles of Psychology: Volume 1
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
Good-humor is a philosophic state of mind; it seems to say to Nature that we take her no more seriously than she takes us. I maintain that one should always talk of philosophy with a smile.
From The Varieties of Religious Experience
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Funny, Philosophical
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Motivational
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
From The Will to Believe : and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
In order to disprove the assertion that all crows are black, one white crow is sufficient.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Happiness, Motivational, Philosophical
So you see that the process of education, taken in a large way, may be described as nothing but the process of acquiring ideas or conceptions, the best educated mind being the mind which has the largest stock of them, ready to meet the largest possible variety of the emergencies of life. The lack of education means only the failure to have acquired them, and the consequent liability to be 'floored' and 'rattled' in the vicissitudes of experience.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Education
Belief creates the actual fact.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human can alter his life by altering his attitude.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
It does not follow, because our ancestors made so many errors of fact and mixed them with their religion, that we should therefore leave off being religious at all. By being religious we establish ourselves in possession of ultimate reality at the only points at which reality is given us to guard. Our responsible concern is with our private destiny, after all.
From The Varieties of Religious Experience
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical, Religion
Wisdom is seeing something in a non-habitual manner.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Motivational
the exclusive worship of the bitch-goddess sucess is our national disease
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
All religions and spiritual traditions begin with the cry "Help!
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
if you can change your mind, you can change your life.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Motivational
Pragmatism asks its usual question. "Grant an idea or belief to be true," it says, "what concrete difference will its being true make in anyone's actual life? How will the truth be realized? What experiences will be different from those which would obtain if the belief were false? What, in short, is the truth's cash-value in experiential terms?
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
Metaphysics means nothing but an unusually obstinate effort to think clearly. The fundamental conceptions of psychology are practically very clear to us, but theoretically they are very confused, and one easily makes the obscurest assumptions in this science without realizing, until challenged, what internal difficulties they involve.
From The Principles of Psychology: Volume 1
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
Your hopes, dreams and aspirations are legitimate. They are trying to take you airborne, above the clouds, above the storms, if you only let them.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Motivational
If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
Philosophy lives in words, but truth and fact well up into our lives in ways that exceed verbal formulation.
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
There is something almost shocking in the notion of so chaste a function carrying this Kantian hurlyburly in her womb.
From The Principles of Psychology: Volume 1
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Philosophical
Good-humor is a philosophic state of mind; it seems to say to Nature that we take her no more seriously than she takes us. I maintain that one should always talk of philosophy with a smile.
From The Varieties of Religious Experience
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Funny, Philosophical