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Religion is a monumental chapter in the history of human egotism.

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
Monumental
Egotism
Chapter
Chapters
Religion
History
Human
Humans

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Success plus Self-esteem equals Pretensions.
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Truth happens to an idea. It becomes true, is made true by events. Its verity is in fact an event, a process: the process namely of its verifying itself, its veri-fication. Its validity is the process of its valid-ation.
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The instinct of ownership is fundamental in man's nature.
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New habits can be launched.
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Seize the very first possible opportunity to act on every resolution you make, and on every emotional prompting you may experience in the direction of the habits you aspire to gain.
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It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all.
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It is art that makes life, and I know of no substitute whatsoever for the force and beauty of its process.
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Humanism . . . is not a single hypothesis or theorem, and it dwells on no new facts. It is rather a slow shifting in the philosophic perspective, making things appear as from a new centre of interest or point of sight.
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Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
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A man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him.
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We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood.
William James
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Religion, whatever it is, is a man's total reaction upon life.
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Give up the feeling of responsibility, let go your hold, resign the care of your destiny to higher powers, be genuinely indifferent as to what becomes of it all and you will find not only that you gain a perfect inward relief, but often also, in addition, the particular goods you sincerely thought you were renouncing.
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Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.
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Man alone of all the creatures of earth can change his own pattern. Man alone is the architect of his own destiny.
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We and God have business with each other, and in opening ourselves to God's influence our deepest destiny is fulfilled.
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As long as there are postmen, life will have zest.
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Why should we think upon things that are lovely? Because thinking determines life. It is a common habit to blame life upon the environment. Environment modifies life but does not govern life. The soul is stronger than its surroundings.
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If any one phrase could gather its (religion's) universal message, that phrase would be, - All is not vanity in this Universe, whatever the appearances may suggest.
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There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.
William James