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I don’t sing because I’m happy; I’m happy because I sing.

William James

It is very important that teachers should realize the importance of habit.
WILLIAM JAMES

Important Realizing Teacher
Our faith is faith in someone else’s faith, and in the greatest matters this is most the case.
WILLIAM JAMES

Cases Matter Philosophical
We are proud of a human nature that could be so passionately extreme, but we shrink from advising others to follow the example.
WILLIAM JAMES

Example Human Nature Proud
The true’to put it very briefly, is only the expedient in the way of our thinking, just as ‘the right’ is only the expedient in the way of our behaving.
WILLIAM JAMES

Briefly Thinking True Way
The difference between objective and subjective extension is one of relation to a context solely.
WILLIAM JAMES

Differences Extensions Relation
Language is the most imperfect and expensive means yet discovered for communicating thought.
WILLIAM JAMES

Imperfect Language Mean
There’s nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it.
WILLIAM JAMES

Believe People Propaganda
Democracy is still upon its trial. The civic genius of our people is its only bulwark.
WILLIAM JAMES

Democracy Genius People
Man, whatever else he may be, is primarily a practical being, whose mind is given him to aid in adapting him to this world’s life
WILLIAM JAMES

Educational Men Philosophy
We can change our circumstances by a mere change of our attitude.
WILLIAM JAMES

Attitude Circumstances Mere
The drunken consciousness is one bit of the mystic consciousness, and our total opinion of it must find its place in our opinion of that larger whole.
WILLIAM JAMES

Consciousness Mystic Opinion
The deepest human need is the need to be appreciated.
WILLIAM JAMES

Appreciated Humans Needs
A new position of responsibility will usually show a man to be a far stronger creature than was supposed.
WILLIAM JAMES

Men Responsibility Stronger
Man, biologically considered … is simply the most formidable of all beasts of prey, and, indeed, the only one that preys systematically on its own kind.
WILLIAM JAMES

Beast Kind Men
We are stereotyped creatures, imitators and copiers of our past selves.
WILLIAM JAMES

Habit Past Self
Footnotes — little dogs yapping at the heels of the text
WILLIAM JAMES

Dog Littles Writing

I don’t sing because I’m happy; I’m happy because I sing.

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I don’t sing because I’m happy; I’m happy because I sing.

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