--- title: "7 Being true Quotes By William James" description: "7 Being true quotes by William James. Plus more from William James and more Being true sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/william-james-228_ancient_the-most-ancient-parts-of-truth-also-onc_1031506.jpg" --- > [The most ancient parts of truth . . . also once were plastic. They also were called true for human reasons. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-most-ancient-parts-of-truth-also-once-were-plastic-they-also-were/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/william-james-228_ancient_the-most-ancient-parts-of-truth-also-onc_1031506.jpg) > [Pragmatism asks its usual question. "Grant an idea or belief to be true," it says, "what concrete difference will its being true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/pragmatism-asks-its-usual-question-grant-an-idea-or-belief-to-be-true/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/william-james-228_actual-life_pragmatism-asks-its-usual-question-grant_1174434.jpg) > [First... a new theory is attacked as absurd; then it is admitted to be true, but obvious and insignificant; finally it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd-then-it-is-admitted-to-be/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-james-228_absurd_first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd_2346495.jpg) > [If evolution and the survival of the fittest be true at all, the destruction of prey and of human rivals must have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-evolution-and-the-survival-of-the-fittest-be-true-at-all-the/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/william-james-228_being-true_if-evolution-and-the-survival-of-the-fit_2386916.jpg) > [Since belief is measured by action, he who forbids us to believe religion to be true, necessarily also forbids us to act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/since-belief-is-measured-by-action-he-who-forbids-us-to-believe-2/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11b/william-james-228_action_since-belief-is-measured-by-action-he-wh_2407276.png) > [If theological ideas prove to have a value for concrete life, they will be true, for pragmatism, in the sense of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-theological-ideas-prove-to-have-a-value-for-concrete-life-they/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/william-james-228_be-good_if-theological-ideas-prove-to-have-a-val_2818742.png) > [An experience, perceptual or conceptual, must conform to reality in order to be true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/an-experience-perceptual-or-conceptual-must-conform-to-reality-in/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d27/william-james-228_being-true_an-experience-perceptual-or-conceptual-m_3188145.png) ## Other authors on Being true ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/william-james/#itemlist", "name": "7 Being true Quotes By William James", "numberOfItems": 7, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most ancient parts of truth . . . also once were plastic. They also were called true for human reasons. They also mediated between still earlier truths and what in those days were novel observations. Purely objective truth, truth in whose establishment the function of giving human satisfaction in marrying previous parts of experience with newer parts played no role whatsoever, is nowhere to be found. The reasons why we call things true is the reason why they are true, for to be true means only to perform this marriage-function.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-most-ancient-parts-of-truth-also-once-were-plastic-they-also-were/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/william-james-228_ancient_the-most-ancient-parts-of-truth-also-onc_1031506.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/william-james-228_ancient_the-most-ancient-parts-of-truth-also-onc_1031506.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/william-james-228_ancient_the-most-ancient-parts-of-truth-also-onc_1031506.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most ancient parts of truth . . . also once were plastic. They also were called true for human reasons…” — William James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Pragmatism asks its usual question. \"Grant an idea or belief to be true,\" it says, \"what concrete difference will its being true make in anyone's actual life? How will the truth be realized? What experiences will be different from those which would obtain if the belief were false? What, in short, is the truth's cash-value in experiential terms?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/pragmatism-asks-its-usual-question-grant-an-idea-or-belief-to-be-true/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/william-james-228_actual-life_pragmatism-asks-its-usual-question-grant_1174434.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/william-james-228_actual-life_pragmatism-asks-its-usual-question-grant_1174434.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/william-james-228_actual-life_pragmatism-asks-its-usual-question-grant_1174434.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Pragmatism asks its usual question. \"Grant an idea or belief to be true,\" it says, \"what concrete difference…” — William James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "First... a new theory is attacked as absurd; then it is admitted to be true, but obvious and insignificant; finally it is seen to be so important that its adversaries claim that they themselves discovered it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd-then-it-is-admitted-to-be/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-james-228_absurd_first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd_2346495.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-james-228_absurd_first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd_2346495.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/william-james-228_absurd_first-a-new-theory-is-attacked-as-absurd_2346495.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“First... a new theory is attacked as absurd; then it is admitted to be true, but obvious and insignificant…” — William James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If evolution and the survival of the fittest be true at all, the destruction of prey and of human rivals must have been among the most important. . . . It is just because human bloodthirstiness is such a primitive part of us that it is so hard to eradicate, especially when a fight or a hunt is promised as part of the fun.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-evolution-and-the-survival-of-the-fittest-be-true-at-all-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/william-james-228_being-true_if-evolution-and-the-survival-of-the-fit_2386916.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/william-james-228_being-true_if-evolution-and-the-survival-of-the-fit_2386916.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/william-james-228_being-true_if-evolution-and-the-survival-of-the-fit_2386916.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If evolution and the survival of the fittest be true at all, the destruction of prey and of human rivals…” — William James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Since belief is measured by action, he who forbids us to believe religion to be true, necessarily also forbids us to act as we should if we did believe it to be true.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/since-belief-is-measured-by-action-he-who-forbids-us-to-believe-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11b/william-james-228_action_since-belief-is-measured-by-action-he-wh_2407276.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11b/william-james-228_action_since-belief-is-measured-by-action-he-wh_2407276.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11b/william-james-228_action_since-belief-is-measured-by-action-he-wh_2407276.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Since belief is measured by action, he who forbids us to believe religion to be true, necessarily also…” — William James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If theological ideas prove to have a value for concrete life, they will be true, for pragmatism, in the sense of being good for so much. How much more they are true, will depend entirely on their relations to the other truths that also have to be acknowledged.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-theological-ideas-prove-to-have-a-value-for-concrete-life-they/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/william-james-228_be-good_if-theological-ideas-prove-to-have-a-val_2818742.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/william-james-228_be-good_if-theological-ideas-prove-to-have-a-val_2818742.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/william-james-228_be-good_if-theological-ideas-prove-to-have-a-val_2818742.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If theological ideas prove to have a value for concrete life, they will be true, for pragmatism, in the…” — William James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An experience, perceptual or conceptual, must conform to reality in order to be true", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/an-experience-perceptual-or-conceptual-must-conform-to-reality-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d27/william-james-228_being-true_an-experience-perceptual-or-conceptual-m_3188145.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d27/william-james-228_being-true_an-experience-perceptual-or-conceptual-m_3188145.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d27/william-james-228_being-true_an-experience-perceptual-or-conceptual-m_3188145.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An experience, perceptual or conceptual, must conform to reality in order to be true” — William James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/william-james/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/william-james/", "name": "Being true Quotes by William James", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/william-james/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfb/william-james-228_ancient_the-most-ancient-parts-of-truth-also-onc_1031506.jpg" }, "description": "7 Being true quotes by William James. Plus more from William James and more Being true sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/william-james/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/william-james/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Being True", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "William James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/william-james/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```