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William James

55 quotes

William James (1842–1910) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and the first educator to offer a course in psychology in the United States. Often called the "Father of American Psychology," James was a leading thinker in pragmatism and functionalism whose ideas about consciousness, habit, and belief continue to influence philosophy and psychology.

“How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness is in fact for most men at all times the secret motive of all they do, and of all they are willing to endure.”

— William James

Happiness

All Quotes by William James

“In business for yourself, not by yourself.”

— William James

Business

“Our faith is faith in someone else's faith, and in the greatest matters this is most the case.”

— William James

Faith

“To change ones life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly.”

— William James

Change

“No matter how full a reservoir of maxims one may possess, and no matter how good one's sentiments may be, if one has not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity to act, one's character may remain entirely unaffected for the better.”

— William James

Good

“The history of philosophy is to a great extent that of a certain clash of human temperaments.”

— William James

Great

“We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood.”

— William James

Truth

“A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and life is after all a chain.”

— William James

Life

“We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.”

— William James

Good

“Faith means belief in something concerning which doubt is theoretically possible.”

— William James

Faith

“If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.”

— William James

Experience

“Truth is what works.”

— William James

Truth

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.”

— William James

Life

“Those thoughts are truth which guide us to beneficial interaction with sensible particulars as they occur, whether they copy these in advance or not.”

— William James

Truth

“The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”

— William James

Great

“Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.”

— William James

Motivational

“There must be something solemn, serious, and tender about any attitude which we denominate religious. If glad, it must not grin or snicker if sad, it must not scream or curse.”

— William James

Attitude

“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.”

— William James

Art

“The best argument I know for an immortal life is the existence of a man who deserves one.”

— William James

Best

“Action may not bring happiness but there is no happiness without action.”

— William James

Happiness

“Wisdom is learning what to overlook.”

— William James

Learning