American psychology owes a lot to this man - William James, Father of American Psychology. William James was the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. Trained as an American philosopher, psychologist and physician, James was one of the leading thinkers of the late nineteenth century, which made him the most influential philosopher of United States. He was one of the major figures associated with the philosophical school of pragmatism, and was also one of the founders of functional psychology. James was responsible for the development of the philosophical perspective known as radical empiricism. His work influenced a lot of intellectuals including prominent statesmen, leaders, writers and even President Jimmy Carter. A prolific writer, James in his lifetime penned variedly on a wide range of topics, including epistemology, education, metaphysics, psychology, religion, and mysticism. His most famous work, ‘The Principles of Psychology’ is counted amongst his most influential books. It contains ground-breaking work from him in the field of psychology, radical empiricism, philosophy and religion. A leader of the philosophical movement of Pragmatism and of the psychological movement of functionalism, James work constitutes of several quotes that reflect his ideology and give a new outlook to situations and life. Browse through this section and find out some famous quotes by William James.
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
William James
Whenever two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is.
William James
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.
We don’t laugh because we’re happy, we’re happy because we laugh.
William James
To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds,
There are no differences but differences of degree between different degrees of difference and no difference.
William James
Good-humor is a philosophic state of mind; it seems to say to Nature that we take her no more seriously than she takes us. I maintain that one should always talk of philosophy with a smile.
If you believe that feeling bad or worrying long enough will change a past or future event, then you are residing on another planet with a different reality system.
If any organism fails to fulfill its potentialities, it becomes sick.
William James
We may be in the Universe as dogs and cats are in our libraries, seeing the books and hearing the conversation, but having no inkling of the
meaning of it all.
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.
