Quotes by William James

William James

American philosopher

Alive from: 1842-1910

Category: Philosophers

Quotes 1 till 15 of 112.

• William James

  

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

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  A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.

• William James

  

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  Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

• William James

  

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  An idea, to be suggestive, must come to the individual with the force of revelation.

• William James

  

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  Compared to what we ought to be, we are only half awake. We are making use of only a small part of our physical and mental resources. Stating the thing broadly, the human individual thus lives far within his limits. He possesses power of various sorts which he habitually fails to use.

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  Everybody should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.

• William James

  

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  Genius... means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an inhabitual way.

• William James

  

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  The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.

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  There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision, and for whom the lighting of every cigar, the drinking of every cup, the time of rising and going to bed every day, and the beginning of every bit of work, are subjects of express volitional deliberation.

• William James

  

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  We have grown literally afraid to be poor. We despise anyone who elects to be poor in order to simplify and save his inner life. If he does not join the general scramble and pant with the money-making street, we deem him spiritless and lacking in ambition.

• William James

  

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  A great many
  people think they are thinking when they are rearranging their prejudices.

• William James

  

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  A man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him.

• William James

  

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  A new idea is first condemned as ridiculous and then dismissed as trivial, until finally, it becomes what everybody knows.

• William James

  

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  Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.
  

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  Act in earnest and you will become earnest in all you do.