---
title: "5 Definitions Quotes By William James"
description: "5 Definitions quotes by William James. Plus more from William James and more Definitions sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/william-james-228_abstract_the-man-who-knows-governments-most-compl_457176.png"
---

> [The man who knows governments most completely is he who troubles himself least about a definition which shall give their essence. Enjoying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-man-who-knows-governments-most-completely-is-he-who-troubles/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/william-james-228_abstract_the-man-who-knows-governments-most-compl_457176.png)

> ['What would be better for us to believe!' This sounds very like a definition of truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/what-would-be-better-for-us-to-believe-this-sounds-very-like-a/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/william-james-228_believe_what-would-be-better-for-us-to-believe-t_1504547.png)

> [To begin with, our knowledge grows in spots. The spots may be large or small, but the knowledge ever grows all over...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/to-begin-with-our-knowledge-grows-in-spots-the-spots-may-be-large-or/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9f/william-james-228_amount_to-begin-with-our-knowledge-grows-in-spo_1508193.jpg)

> [To begin with our knowledge grows in spots. ..What you first gain, ... is probably a small amount of new information, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/to-begin-with-our-knowledge-grows-in-spots-what-you-first-gain-is/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/164/william-james-228_belief_to-begin-with-our-knowledge-grows-in-spo_1892077.jpg)

> [The difference between the first and second-best things in art absolutely seems to escape verbal definition -- it is a matter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-difference-between-the-first-and-second-best-things-in-art/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/william-james-228_art_the-difference-between-the-first-and-sec_1893512.png)

## Other authors on Definitions

## 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/)

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