James’s own assessment of his ability was far less glowing.
At one point he wrote, “I have no facility for writing, as some people have.”
The following quotations offer insight into William James’s beliefs, theories, and philosophy.
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“Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds.
A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.”
“Compared with what we ought to be, we are half awake.”
“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.”
“Truth in our ideas means their power to work.”
“Truth happens to an idea.”
“What an awful trade that of professor ispaid to talk, talk, talk!
It would be an awful universe if everything could be converted into words, words, words.”
“Philosophy is at once the most sublime and the most trivial of human pursuits.”
On Success, Failure, and Acceptance
“Be willing to have it so.
Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.”
“Our errors are surely not such awfully solemn things.
“There is but one cause of human failure.
And that is man’s lack of faith in his true Self.”
“All natural goods perish.
“If merely ‘feeling good’ could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.”
“We are all ready to be savage in some cause.
The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.”
“The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”
Schultz DP, Schultz SE.A History of Modern Psychology.
Cengage Learning; 2011.
James W.The Letters of William James.James H, ed.
Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press; 1920.
James W.The energies of men.Science.
1907;25(635):321-332.
James W.The Principles of Psychology.New York: Henry Holt and Co.; 1890.
James W.The Varieties of Religious Experience.
New York: Longmans, Green, and Co.; 1902.
