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To leap across an abyss, one is better served by faith than doubt.

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
Across
Doubt
Faith
Better
Abyss
Served
Leap

More quotes by William James

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Every way of classifying a thing is but a way of handling it for some particular purpose.
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A remarkable parallel, which I think has never been noticed, obtains between the facts of social evolution on the one hand, and of zological evolution as expounded by Mr. Darwin on the other.
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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.
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The old question of whether there is design is idle. The real question is what is the world, whether or not it have a designer--and that can be revealed only by the study of all nature's particulars.
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Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
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As Charles Lamb says, there is nothing so nice as doing good by stealth and being found out by accident, so I now say it is even nicer to make heroic decisions and to be prevented by 'circumstances beyond your control' from ever trying to execute them.
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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An experience, perceptual or conceptual, must conform to reality in order to be true
William James
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Real servants don't try to use God for their purposes. They let God use them for His purposes.
William James
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'Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.
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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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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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Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive.
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Far from being antecedent principles that animate the process, law, language, truth are but abstract names for its results.
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All religions begin with the cry Help.
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The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep our foot upon his neck.
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Formula to live your dream: 1. Be bold. 2. Begin now, 3. No exceptions.
William James
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... no bell in us tolls to let us know for certain when truth is in our grasp.
William James
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A sense of humor is just common sense dancing.
William James
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Life shall be built in doing and suffering and creating.
William James