William James Quotes
William James was a 19th and early 20th-century American philosopher and psychologist, one of the founders of pragmatism and a central figure in the early development of modern psychology. His monumental Principles of Psychology of 1890 helped establish psychology as an empirical discipline distinct from philosophy. The quotes below are attributed to William James, organized by topic.
William James on Knowledge
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Attributed to William James:
“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.”
William James on Life
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Attributed to William James:
“Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.”
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Attributed to William James:
“Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake.”
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Attributed to William James:
“Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they have got a second.”
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Attributed to William James:
“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”
William James on Mind
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Attributed to William James:
“A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.”
William James on Truth
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Attributed to William James:
“Pragmatism asks its usual question. Grant an idea or belief to be true, what concrete difference will its being true make in anyone's actual life?”
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Attributed to William James:
“Truth is what works.”