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Language is the most imperfect and expensive means yet discovered for communicating thought.

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
Communicate
Language
Means
Thought
Mean
Communicating
Imperfect
Expensive
Discovered

More quotes by William James

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The trail of the human serpent is thus over everything.
William James
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Man lives by habits indeed, but what he lives for is thrill and excitements. ... From time immemorial war has been ... the supremely thrilling excitement.
William James
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In the matter of belief, we are all extreme conservatives.
William James
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There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.
William James
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The belief in free-will is not in the least incompatible with the belief in Providence, provided you do not restrict the Providence to fulminating nothing but fatal decrees.
William James
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We hear in these days of scientific enlightenment a great deal of discussion about the efficacy of Prayer. Many reasons are given why we should not pray. Others give reasons why we should pray. Very little is said of the reason we do pray. The reason is simple: We pray because we cannot help praying.
William James
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The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
William James
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There is no doubt that healthy-mindedness is inadequate as a philosophical doctrine, because the evil facts which it refuses positively to account for are a genuine portion of reality and they may after all be the best key to life's significance, and possibly the only openers of our eyes to the deepest levels of truth.
William James
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My experience is what I agree to attend to.
William James
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There can be no final truth in ethics any more than in physics, until the last man has had his experience and said his say.
William James
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Despair lames most people, but it wakes others fully up.
William James
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Hogamus, higamous Man is polygamous Higamus, hogamous Woman monogamous.
William James
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For morality life is a war, and the service of the highest is a sort of cosmic patriotism which also calls for volunteers.
William James
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To change ones life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly.
William James
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Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed. which give happiness. Thomas Jefferson We never enjoy perfect happiness our most fortunate successes are mingled with sadness some anxieties always perplex the reality of our satisfaction.
William James
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Wisdom is learning what to overlook.
William James
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The amount of psychology which is necessary to all teachers need not be very great.
William James
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Do every day or two something for no other reason than its difficulty.
William James
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Out of time we cut 'days' and 'nights', 'summers' and 'winters.' We say what, each part of the sensible continuum is, and all these abstract whats are concepts. The intelletual life of man consists almost wholly in his substitution of a conceptual order for the persceptual order in which his experience originally comes.
William James
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The only function that one experience can perform is to lead into another experience and the only fulfillment we can speak of isthe reaching of a certain experienced end. When one experience leads to (or can lead to) the same end as another, they agree in function.
William James