William James

Pragmatism, psychology

Modern influential 70 sayings

Sayings by William James

The world is continuous, and we are part of its continuity.

Unknown, early 20th century — Reflects his ideas on radical empiricism and the interconnectedness of experience.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The practical value of a truth is its truth.

1907 (from 'Pragmatism') — A core tenet of his pragmatic philosophy.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The ultimate test for us of what a truth means is the conduct it dictates or inspires.

1907 — From 'Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The world is not a finished product but a process.

Unknown — Often cited as a summary of his process philosophy.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

There are no such things as facts, only interpretations.

Unknown — While this sentiment is often attributed to Nietzsche, James also explored the subjective nature of …
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The true is the name for whatever proves itself to be good in the way of belief, and good, too, for definite assignable reasons.

1907 — From 'Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The more violent the spiritual agitation, the more profound and lasting the results.

1902 — From 'The Varieties of Religious Experience'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The world is not a block universe, but a pluralistic one.

1909 — From 'A Pluralistic Universe'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.

1890 — From 'The Principles of Psychology'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working.

1902 — From 'The Varieties of Religious Experience'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The mind is at every stage a theater of simultaneous possibilities.

1890 — From 'The Principles of Psychology'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

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.

1907 — From 'Pragmatism'
Controversial Unverifiable

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

1890 — The Principles of Psychology, Vol. 1
Humorous Unverifiable

The world is a bad master, and it does not pay to serve it.

1867 — Letter to Henry James Sr.
Humorous Unverifiable

Our errors are not so much sins as they are diseases.

Unknown — Attributed, often quoted.
Humorous Unverifiable

The exclusive worship of the bitch-goddess SUCCESS is our national disease.

1906 — Letter to H. G. Wells
Humorous Unverifiable

To be alone is to be free.

Unknown — Attributed, often quoted.
Humorous Unverifiable

The world is a pluralism of independent facts.

1909 — A Pluralistic Universe
Humorous Unverifiable

Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second.

Unknown — Attributed, often quoted.
Humorous Unverifiable

When we survey the whole field of actual experience, we find it to be a tissue of different kinds of reality.

1911 — Some Problems of Philosophy
Humorous Unverifiable