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Quote by William James

“Any object not interesting in itself may become interesting through becoming associated with an object in which an interest already exists. The two associated objects grow, as it were, together; the interesting portion sheds its quality over the whole; and thus things not interesting in their own right borrow an interest which becomes as real and as strong as that of any natively interesting thing.”

Quote by William James

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

This book is a compilation of talks that delve into psychological principles and explore various life ideals, intended for both teachers and students to gain insights and perspectives on these topics. more

Author

William James
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

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“The most natively interesting object to a man is his own personal self and its fortunes. We accordingly see that the moment a thing becomes connected with the fortunes of the self, it forthwith becomes an interesting thing.”

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Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life's Ideals
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“From all these facts there emerges a very simple abstract program for the teacher to follow in keeping the attention of the child: Begin with the line of his native interests, and offer him objects that have some immediate connection with these.”

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Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life's Ideals
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“If, then, you wish to insure the interest of your pupils, there is only one way to do it; and that is to make certain that they have something in their minds to attend with, when you begin to talk. That something can consist in nothing but a previous lot of ideas already interesting in themselves, and of such a nature that the incoming novel objects which you present can dovetail into them and form with them some kind of a logically associated or systematic whole.”

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Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life's Ideals
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“All that we need explicitly to note is that, the more the passive attention is relied on, by keeping the material interesting; and the less the kind of attention requiring effort is appealed to; the more smoothly and pleasantly the classroom work goes on.”

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Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals
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“But when all is said and done, the fact remains that some teachers have a naturally inspiring presence and can make their exercises interesting, whilst others simply cannot. And psychology and general pedagogy here confess their failure, and hand things over to the deeper spring of human personality to conduct the task.”

HumansSaidDonePhilosophyFactsHandsLiteratureInterestingPsychologyTeacherPersonalityExerciseSpringTasksRemainsEducationalDeeperSaid And DonePedagogyHuman Personality
Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals
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“If the topic be highly abstract, show its nature by concrete examples. If it be unfamiliar, trace some point of analogy in it with the known. If it be inhuman, make it figure as part of a story. If it be difficult, couple its acquisition with some prospect of personal gain. Above all things, make sure that it shall run through certain inner changes, since no unvarying object can possibly hold the mental field for long.”

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Author:William James
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“An educated memory depends on an organized system of associations; and its goodness depends on two of their peculiarities: first, on the persistency of the associations; and, second, on their number.”

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