Quote

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.

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
Things
Sight
Philosophic
Perspective
Dwells
Single
Humanism
Interest
Shifting
Point
Hypothesis
Rather
Centre
Making
Slow
Theorem
Facts
Appear
Theorems

More quotes by William James

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At bottom, the whole concern of religion is with the manner of our acceptance of the universe.
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In order to disprove the assertion that all crows are black, one white crow is sufficient.
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Thoughts become perception, perception becomes reality. Alter your thoughts, alter your reality.
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Events are influenced by our very great desires.
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Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
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Our life is always deeper than we know, is always more divine than it seems, and hence we are able to survive degradations and despairs which otherwise must engulf us.
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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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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.
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In my individual heart I fully believe my faith is as robust as yours. The trouble with your robust and full bodied faiths, however, is, that they begin to cut each others throats too soon, and for getting on in the world and establishing a modus vivendi these pestilential refinements and reasonablenesses and moderations have to creep in.
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History is a bath of blood.
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The absolute things, the last things, the overlapping things, are the truly philosophic concerns all superior minds feel seriously about them, and the mind with the shortest views is simply the mind of the more shallow man.
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An act has no ethical quality whatever unless it be chosen out of several all equally possible.
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The desire to gain wealth and the fear to lose it are our chief breeders of cowardice and propagators of corruption.
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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Science, like life, feeds on its own decay. New facts burst old rules then newly divined conceptions bind old and new together into a reconciling law.
William James
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Life is one long struggle between conclusions based on abstract ways of conceiving cases, and opposite conclusions prompted by our instinctive perception of them.
William James
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No living person is sunk so low as not to be imitated by somebody.
William James
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He who refuses to embrace a unique opportunity loses the prize as surely as if he had failed.
William James
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Our ideas must agree with realities, be such realities concrete or abstract, be they facts or be they principles, under penalty of endless inconsistency and frustration.
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The lunatic's visions of horror are all drawn from the material of daily fact.
William James