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William James

William James Quotes

Philosopher

William James, born on January 11, 1842, and died on August 26, 1910, was an influential American philosopher, psychologist, and writer. He is considered one of the founders of functionalism in psychology and has had a profound impact on the fields of psychology, philosophy, and religion.

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Famous William James Quotes

“Our volitional habits depend, then, first, on what the stock of ideas is which we have; and, second, on the habitual coupling of the several ideas with action or inaction respectively.”

Firsts Ideas Philosophy Action Literature Depends Habit Educational Inaction Habitual Coupling

Book:The Heart of William James

Source: The Heart of William James

“The exercise of voluntary attention in the schoolroom must therefore be counted one of the most important points of training that take place there; and the first-rate teacher, by the keenness of the remoter interests which he is able to awaken, will provide abundant opportunities for its occurrence.”

Firsts Important Philosophy Able Literature Opportunity Interest Attention Teacher Exercise Training Rate Educational Keenness

Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals

Source: Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals

“Considering the inner fitness of things, one would rather think that the very first act of a will endowed with freedom should be to sustain the belief in the freedom itself.”

Thinking Should Firsts Philosophy Literature Belief Educational Considering

Book:The Heart of William James

Source: The Heart of William James

“It is not probable that the reader will be satisfied with any of these solutions, and contemporary philosophers, even rationalistically minded ones, have on the whole agreed that no one has intelligibly banished the mystery of fact.”

Philosophy Whole Facts Mystery Philosopher Contemporary

Author:William James

“Pretend what we may, the whole man within us is at work when we form our philosophical opinions.”

Men May Philosophy Whole Form Opinion Philosophical

Book:Essays in Popular Philosophy: Top Essays

Source: Essays in Popular Philosophy: Top Essays

“Philosophy is at once the most sublime and the most trivial of human pursuits.”

Humans Philosophy Philosophical Pursuit Sublime

Book:Some Problems of Philosophy

Source: Some Problems of Philosophy

“The philosophy which is so important in each of us is not a technical matter; it is our more or less dumb sense of what life honestly and deeply means. It is only partly got from books; it is our individual way of just seeing and feeling the total push and pressure of the cosmos.”

Way Mean Important Book Matter Philosophy Feelings Individual Seeing Pressure Honestly Dumb Cosmos Phylosophy

Author:William James

“I know that you, ladies and gentlemen, have a philosophy, each and all of you, and that the most interesting and important thing about you is the way in which it determines the perspective in your several worlds.”

Knows World Way Important Philosophy Interesting Perspective Important Things Determine Philosopher Gentleman Most Interesting Ladies And Gentlemen

Book:Writings, 1902-1910

Source: Writings, 1902-1910

“O my Bergson, you are a magician, and your book is a marvel, a real wonder in the history of philosophy . . . In finishing it I found . . . such a flavor of persistent euphony, as of a rich river that never foamed or ran thin, but steadily and firmly proceeded with its banks full to the brim.”

Book Real Philosophy Found Wonder Rich Rivers Historical Ran Flavor Magician Persistent Finishing Finishing It

Book:Selected Letters

Source: Selected Letters

“If you give appreciation to people, you win their goodwill. But more important than that, practicing this philosophy has made a different person of me.”

People Ifs Giving Persons Made Important Different Philosophy Winning Attitude Appreciation Goodwill

Author:William James

“To some of us the thought of God is like a sort of quiet music playing in the background of the mind.”

Mind Philosophy Quiet Backgrounds

Author:William James

“The general law is that no mental modification ever occurs which is not accompanied or followed by a bodily change.”

Mind Philosophy Body Law Psychology Medicine Senses Soma Modification

Book:The Principles of Psychology

Source: The Principles of Psychology

About the Author

Born: January 11, 1842
Died: August 26, 1910
Known for: Philosopher
Quotes: 760

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Books & Sources

The Principles of PsychologyRelated source material

The Varieties of Religious ExperienceRelated source material

Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life's IdealsRelated source material

Writings, 1902-1910Related source material

Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life's IdealsRelated source material

Psychology: The Briefer CourseRelated source material

Essays in Popular Philosophy: Top EssaysRelated source material

William James: Essays and LecturesRelated source material

The Will to Believe: And Other Essays in Popular Philosophy, and Human ImmortalityRelated source material

The Heart of William JamesRelated source material

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