--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every way of classifying a thing is but a…" description: "\"Every way of classifying a thing is but a way of handling it for some particular purpose.\" — William James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/560/william-james-228_classifying_every-way-of-classifying-a-thing-is-but_1554998.png" --- # Every way of classifying a thing is but a way of handling… ![“Every way of classifying a thing is but a way of handling it for some particular purpose.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/560/william-james-228_classifying_every-way-of-classifying-a-thing-is-but_1554998.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/560/william-james-228_classifying_every-way-of-classifying-a-thing-is-but_1554998.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/560/william-james-228_classifying_every-way-of-classifying-a-thing-is-but_1554998.png) > “Every way of classifying a thing is but a way of handling it for some particular purpose.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Classifying things serves specific purposes, shaping how we treat them. **In simple terms:** Categories are tools for specific aims. Key Takeaway Choose classifications that serve your goals. Themes classification purpose perception Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - research design - data analysis - policy making - education - marketing Key Concepts philosophy pragmatism cognitive science Questions to Reflect On - What purpose guides your current classifications? - How might alternative categories change outcomes? A Different Perspective Categories may oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Classifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classifying/) [Classifying Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classifying-thing-5820542/) [Handling Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handling-particular-5820544/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Particular Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular-purpose-2911540/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Classifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-classifying-5820543/) ## Related quotes > [I think there's something nice about singing for a kind of particular purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-blagden/i-think-there-s-something-nice-about-singing-for-a-kind-of-particular/) [George Blagden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-blagden/) > [“She was nothing in particular. But at least she had a purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/she-was-nothing-in-particular-but-at-least-she-had-a-purpose/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [A recent poll shows that a majority of blacks, whites, Asians and Hispanics do not think the Census should be classifying people as black,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/a-recent-poll-shows-that-a-majority-of-blacks-whites-asians-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Of course, intersectionality theory is a confused muddle. It fights racism and sexism by classifying everyone according to race and sex. It views race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/of-course-intersectionality-theory-is-a-confused-muddle-it-fights/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [Miracles can happen when we can keep our consciousness away from analyzing and classifying one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/miracles-can-happen-when-we-can-keep-our-consciousness-away-from/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Today's banalities apparently gain in profundity if one states that the wisdom of the past, for all its virtues, belongs to the past. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-jacoby/today-s-banalities-apparently-gain-in-profundity-if-one-states-that/) [Russell Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-jacoby/) > [The first step in wisdom is to know the things themselves; this notion consists in having a true idea of the objects; objects are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-linnaeus/the-first-step-in-wisdom-is-to-know-the-things-themselves-this-notion/) [Carl Linnaeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-linnaeus/) > [Classifying and judging people promotes violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/classifying-and-judging-people-promotes-violence/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [“The wise do not classify. The wise do not want to be classified. Classifying people is not classy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-bevere/the-wise-do-not-classify-the-wise-do-not-want-to-be-classified/) [Lisa Bevere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-bevere/) > [When the public starts classifying you as thoughtful, someone given to serious issues, you find yourself declassified as a humorist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/when-the-public-starts-classifying-you-as-thoughtful-someone-given-to/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [Classifying the stars has helped materially in all studies of the structure of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jump-cannon/classifying-the-stars-has-helped-materially-in-all-studies-of-the/) [Annie Jump Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jump-cannon/) > [I am not a "culture critic" because I am not in any way interested in classifying cultural forms. I am a metaphysician, interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-not-a-culture-critic-because-i-am-not-in-any-way-interested-in/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [In my opinion the separation of the c- and ac-stars is the most important advancement in stellar classification since the trials by Vogel and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ejnar-hertzsprung/in-my-opinion-the-separation-of-the-c-and-ac-stars-is-the-most/) [Ejnar Hertzsprung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ejnar-hertzsprung/) > [Everything is starting to make a little more sense to me now. I love the idea that, first of all when I made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-jaye/everything-is-starting-to-make-a-little-more-sense-to-me-now-i-love/) [Courtney Jaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-jaye/) > [To allow same-sex couples to adopt children and then to label their families as second-class because the adoptive parents are of the same sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-reinhardt/to-allow-same-sex-couples-to-adopt-children-and-then-to-label-their/) [Stephen Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-reinhardt/) ## 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/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Classifying quotes > [To allow same-sex couples to adopt children and then to label their families as second-class because the adoptive parents are of the same sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-reinhardt/to-allow-same-sex-couples-to-adopt-children-and-then-to-label-their/) [Stephen Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-reinhardt/) > [Everything is starting to make a little more sense to me now. I love the idea that, first of all when I made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-jaye/everything-is-starting-to-make-a-little-more-sense-to-me-now-i-love/) [Courtney Jaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-jaye/) > [In my opinion the separation of the c- and ac-stars is the most important advancement in stellar classification since the trials by Vogel and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ejnar-hertzsprung/in-my-opinion-the-separation-of-the-c-and-ac-stars-is-the-most/) [Ejnar Hertzsprung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ejnar-hertzsprung/) > [I am not a "culture critic" because I am not in any way interested in classifying cultural forms. I am a metaphysician, interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-not-a-culture-critic-because-i-am-not-in-any-way-interested-in/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Classifying the stars has helped materially in all studies of the structure of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jump-cannon/classifying-the-stars-has-helped-materially-in-all-studies-of-the/) [Annie Jump Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jump-cannon/) > [When the public starts classifying you as thoughtful, someone given to serious issues, you find yourself declassified as a humorist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/when-the-public-starts-classifying-you-as-thoughtful-someone-given-to/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [“The wise do not classify. The wise do not want to be classified. Classifying people is not classy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-bevere/the-wise-do-not-classify-the-wise-do-not-want-to-be-classified/) [Lisa Bevere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-bevere/) > [Classifying and judging people promotes violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/classifying-and-judging-people-promotes-violence/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [The first step in wisdom is to know the things themselves; this notion consists in having a true idea of the objects; objects are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-linnaeus/the-first-step-in-wisdom-is-to-know-the-things-themselves-this-notion/) [Carl Linnaeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-linnaeus/) > [Today's banalities apparently gain in profundity if one states that the wisdom of the past, for all its virtues, belongs to the past. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-jacoby/today-s-banalities-apparently-gain-in-profundity-if-one-states-that/) [Russell Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-jacoby/) > [Miracles can happen when we can keep our consciousness away from analyzing and classifying one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/miracles-can-happen-when-we-can-keep-our-consciousness-away-from/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Of course, intersectionality theory is a confused muddle. It fights racism and sexism by classifying everyone according to race and sex. It views race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/of-course-intersectionality-theory-is-a-confused-muddle-it-fights/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [A recent poll shows that a majority of blacks, whites, Asians and Hispanics do not think the Census should be classifying people as black,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/a-recent-poll-shows-that-a-majority-of-blacks-whites-asians-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It is clear, from these considerations, that the three methods of classifying mankind-that according to physical characters, according to language, and according to culture-all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-boas/it-is-clear-from-these-considerations-that-the-three-methods-of/) [Franz Boas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-boas/) > [“To be able to listen -- really, wholly passively, self-effacingly listen -- without presupposing, classifying, improving, controverting, evaluating, approving or disapproving, without dueling with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/to-be-able-to-listen-really-wholly-passively-self-effacingly-listen/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) [Browse all 21 Classifying quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classifying/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every way of classifying a thing is but a way of handling it for some particular purpose.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/every-way-of-classifying-a-thing-is-but-a-way-of-handling-it-for-some/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Classifying" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/every-way-of-classifying-a-thing-is-but-a-way-of-handling-it-for-some/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/560/william-james-228_classifying_every-way-of-classifying-a-thing-is-but_1554998.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/560/william-james-228_classifying_every-way-of-classifying-a-thing-is-but_1554998.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/560/william-james-228_classifying_every-way-of-classifying-a-thing-is-but_1554998.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every way of classifying a thing is but a way of handling it for some particular purpose.” — William James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "William James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every way of classifying a thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/every-way-of-classifying-a-thing-is-but-a-way-of-handling-it-for-some/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/every-way-of-classifying-a-thing-is-but-a-way-of-handling-it-for-some/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```