William James

I wished, by treating Psychology like a natural science, to help her to become one.

William James

If an unusual necessity forces us onward, a surprising thing occurs. The fatigue gets worse up to a certain point, when, gradually or suddenly, it passes away and we are fresher than before!

William James

If any organism fails to fulfill its potentialities, it becomes sick.

William James

If it works, it’s true.

William James

If this life is not a real fight, in which something is eternally gained for the universe by success, it is no better than a game of private theatricals from which one may withdraw at will. But it feels like a real fight.

William James

If we claim only reasonable probability, it will be as much as men who love the truth can ever at any given moment hope to have within their grasp.

William James

If you wish to upset the law that all crows are black, you mustn’t seek to show that no crows are; it is enough if you prove one single crow to be white.

William James

In certain diseased conditions consciousness is a mere spark, without memory of the past or thought of the future, and with the present narrowed down to some one simple emotion or sensation of the body.

William James

In the acquisition of a new habit, or the leaving off of an old one, we must take care to launch ourselves with as strong and decided an initiative as possible.

William James

In the dim background of mind we know what we ought to be doing but somehow we cannot start.

William James