William James

Explore 24 quotes by William James

Most people live, whether physically, intellectually or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make use of a very small portion of their possible consciousness, and of their soul's resources in general, much like a man who, out of his whole bodily organism, should get into a habit of using and moving only his little finger. Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.

William James

More information about this quote

Topic

Human potential

Author

William James

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1906 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

James, William. Letter to W. Lutoslawski. 6 May 1906.

The moral flabbiness born of the exclusive worship of the bitch-goddess success. That-with the squalid cash interpretation put on the word success-is our national disease.

William James

More information about this quote

Topic

Success Love of money

Author

William James

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1906 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

James, William. Letter to H. G. Wells. 11 Sept. 1906.

Man, biologically considered, and whatever else he may be in the bargain, is simply the most formidable of all the beasts of prey, and, indeed, the only one that preys systematically on its own species.

William James

More information about this quote

Topic

Man's cruelty to man Man and animals Nature of man

Author

William James

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1904 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

James, William. "Remarks At The Peace Banquet." Atlantic Monthly, Dec. 1904. Originally remarks at the world peace banquet. 7 Oct. 1904, Boston, MA, USA.

We can act as if there were a God; feel as if we were free; consider Nature as if she were full of special designs; lay plans as if we were to be immortal; and we find then that these words do make a genuine difference in our moral life.

William James

The Varieties of Religious Experience

Read The Reality of the Unseen at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Power of thought Beliefs

Author

William James

Source

The Varieties of Religious Experience

Genre

Psychological literature

Language

English

Time

1902 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, William. "The Reality of the Unseen." Gifford Lecture. c. 1902, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. Lecture.

Current Citation

James, William. "The Reality of the Unseen." The Varieties of Religious Experience, edited by Martin E. Marty. Penguin Classics, 1982.