James, William

"Mankind's common instinct for reality has always held the world to be essentially a place of things more or less holding the same, and where the relations that obtain are pretty constant."

"The stream of consciousness is not a stream of ideas; it is a stream of thoughts of a much wider kind."

"I have never denied the possibility of such experiences or phenomena."

"Tolerance and patience should characterize all our actions toward the less fortunate."

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance."

"Truth is what works."

"When a subject is highly abstract, an illustration drawn from the physical world may often serve the purpose of making the matter clearer."

"The greatest discovery of this generation is that by changing our inner attitudes of mind, we can change the outer aspects of our lives."

"The war against evil may be waged without armies or bombs, through example and precept."

"We are taught to believe that success is entirely dependent on our individual efforts."

"The practical needs and purposes of life itself first prompted the development of knowledge."

"As the physiological side of every emotion gradually fades away."

"Our individual lives have not been given to us but entrusted to us."

"To change one's life: 1. Start immediately. 2. Do it flamboyantly. 3. No exceptions."

"The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated."

"The sovereign cure for worry is action."

"We are not only our brother's keeper; in a real sense we are our brother."

"Morality is largely a test of conformity to the customs of one's time."

"The existence of evil is not incompatible with the goodness of God."

"Art indeed is a method of concentrated attention."

"Poetry is the region in which is concentrated the secret, the principle of beauty."

"Literature is the most direct way to wisdom."

"It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all."

"It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine our success or failure."

"When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice."

"The deepest human need is to feel valued."

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information: the principle of contempt prior to investigation."

"Every individual is potentially capable of achieving a higher spiritual development."

"The true opposites are activity and passivity, not good and evil."

"Materialism is only one species of the genus, idealism is another."