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The ideas gained by men before they are twenty-five are practically the only ideas they shall have in their lives.

William James

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William James
Age: 68 †
Born: 1842
Born: January 11
Died: 1910
Died: August 26
Philosopher
Physician
Psychologist
University Teacher
W. James
Five
Lives
Ideas
Men
Practically
Gained
Twenty
Twenties
Shall

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Religion is a monumental chapter in the history of human egotism.
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A new opinion counts as true just in proportion as it gratifies the individual's desire to assimilate the novel in his experience to his beliefs in stock
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As a rule reading fiction is as hard to me as trying to hit a target by hurling feathers at it. I need resistance to celebrate!
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The teachers of this country, one may say, have its future in their hands.
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How pleasant is the day when we give up striving to be young-or slender.
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As long as there are postmen, life will have zest.
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To consider hypotheses is surely always better than to dogmatize ins blaue hinein
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I am only a philosopher, and there is only one thing that a philosopher can be relied on to do, and that is, to contradict other philosophers.
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Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
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As a rule we disbelieve all the facts and theories for which we have no use.
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Objective evidence and certitude are doubtless very fine ideals to play with, but where on this moonlit and dream-visited planet are they found?
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The minute a man ceases to grow, no matter what his years, that minute he begins to be old.
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Language is the most imperfect and expensive means yet discovered for communicating thought.
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When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.
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The work that leads to a doctor's degree is a constant temptation to sacrifice one's growth as a man to one's growth as a specialist.
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With mere good intentions hell is proverbially paved.
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If an unusual necessity forces us onward, a surprising thing occurs. The fatigue gets worse up to a certain point, when, gradually or suddenly, it passes away and we are fresher than before!
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The function of ignoring, of inattention, is as vital a factor in mental progress as the function of attention itself.
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A little cooling down of animal excitability and instinct, a little loss of animal toughness, a little irritable weakness and descent of the pain-threshold, will bring the worm at the core of all our usual springs of delight into full view, and turn us into melancholy metaphysicians.
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Every time a resolve or a fine glow of feeling evaporates without bearing practical fruit is worse than a chance lost it works so as positively to hinder future resolutions and emotions from taking the normal path of discharge.
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