Democracy is still upon its trial. The civic genius of our people is its only bulwark. - William James

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Engraved portrait of William James, facing left

Democracy is still upon its trial. The civic genius of our people is its only bulwark.

English
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About William James

William James (11 January 1842 – 26 August 1910) was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher. He developed the philosophical perspective known as radical empiricism, and wrote influential books on the science of psychology, the psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and the philosophy of pragmatism.

Biography information from Wikiquote · Portrait adapted from Wikimedia Commons, Alice Boughton (Public domain / CC0)

Also Known As

Alternative Names: W. James

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Additional quotes by William James

If the generations of mankind suffered and laid down their lives; if martyrs sang in the fire... for no other end than that a race of creatures of such unexampled insipidity should succeed, and protract... their contented and inoffensive lives, why, at such a rate... better ring down the curtain before the last act of the play, so that a business that began so importantly may be saved from so singularly flat a winding up.

The pragmatic method starts from the postulate that there is no difference of truth that doesn’t make a difference of fact somewhere; and it seeks to determine the meaning of all differences of opinion by making the discussion hinge as soon as possible upon some practical or particular issue.

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