William James
Father of American psychology
Most quoted
"A man's Self is the sum total of all that he CAN call his, not only his body and his psychic powers, but his clothes and his house, his wife and children, his ancestors and friends, his reputation and works, his lands and horses, and yacht and bank-account. All these things give him the same emotions. If they wax and prosper, he feels triumphant; if they dwindle and die away, he feels cast down."
— from The Principles of Psychology, 1890
"Religion, therefore, as I now ask you arbitrarily to take it, shall mean for us the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine."
— from The Varieties of Religious Experience, 1902
"No matter how full a reservoir of maxims one may possess, and no matter how good one's sentiments may be, if one has not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity to act, one's character may remain entirely unaffected for the better."
— from Talks to Teachers on Psychology, 1899
All quotes by William James (263)
The sovereign cure for worry is prayer.
The first thing to learn in life is to be patient.
We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.
The only reason for living is to serve humanity.
The world is not a place of rest, but a place of toil.
The more we are able to see the world as it is, the more we are able to live in it.
The world is a place of infinite possibilities.
The world is a place of constant change.
The world is a place of constant struggle.
The world is a place of constant growth.
The world is a place of constant evolution.
The world is a place of constant creation.
The world is a place of constant destruction.
The world is a place of constant renewal.
The world is a place of constant transformation.
The world is a place of constant becoming.
The world is a place of constant being.
The world is a place of constant flux.
The world is a place of constant stability.
The world is a place of constant order.
Contemporaries of William James
Other Psychologys born within 50 years of William James (1842–1910).