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Quote by William James

“There is no doubt that healthy-mindedness is inadequate as a philosophical doctrine, because the evil facts which it refuses positively to account for are a genuine portion of reality; and they may after all be the best key to life's significance, and possibly the only openers of our eyes to the deepest levels of truth.”

Book:The William James Reader

Work

The William James Reader

This reader brings together a selection of William James' most significant essays and lectures, offering a comprehensive view of his philosophical and psychological theories. James, a key figure in the American philosophical movement of pragmatism, explores topics such as the nature of reality, the self, and the role of consciousness. The volume includes classics like 'The Principles of Psychology' and 'Varieties of Religious Experience', providing readers with a deep understanding of James' intellectual contributions. more

Author

William James

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. more

“Therefore, it is we who are responsible for much of the evil in the world; and we are each morally required to accept rather than project that ponderous responsibility-lest we prefer instead to wallow in a perennial state of powerless, frustrated, furious, victimhood. For what one possesses the power to bring about, one has also the power to limit, Mitigate, counteract, or transmute.”

World States Evil Responsibility Accepting Limits Projects Responsible Frustrated Existential Powerless Furious Victimhood

Book:Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic: The Psychological Genesis of Violence, Evil, and Creativity

Source: Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic: The Psychological Genesis of Violence, Evil, and Creativity

“The citizens of a city are not guilty of the crimes committed in their city; but they are guilty as participants in the destiny of [humanity] as a whole and in the destiny of their city in particular; for their acts in which freedom was united with destiny have contributed to the destiny in which they participate. They are guilty, not of committing the crimes of which their group is accused, but of contributing to the destiny in which these crimes happened.”