The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.
Philosophers
William James
Born in New York in 1842, William James laid the intellectual foundations of both psychology and philosophy in America. He established the country's first psychology course in 1875, earning the title 'father of American psychology,' and co-founded pragmatism with Peirce. His concept of the 'stream of consciousness' influenced literature as well as science, and The Varieties of Religious Experience reframed religion as personal inner experience.
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William James's Other Quotes
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
The true is the name of whatever proves itself to be good in the way of belief, and good, too, for definite, assignable reasons.
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
Related Quotes
The true is the name of whatever proves itself to be good in the way of belief, and good, too, for definite, assignable reasons.
-- William James
I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.
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Turn your wounds into wisdom.
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The single most important change I made was to move from New York to Zurich.
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