Quote by: William James

It is true that we instinctively recoil from seeing an object to which our emotions and affections are committed handled by the intellect as any other object is handled. The first thing the intellect does with an object is to class it along with something else. But any object that is infinitely important to us and awakens our devotion feels to us also as if it must be sui generis and unique. Probably a crab would be filled with a sense of personal outrage if it could hear us class it without ado or apology as a crustacean, and thus dispose of it. “I am no such thing,” it would say; “I am MYSELF, MYSELF alone.” The next thing the intellect does is to lay bare the causes in which the thing originates. Spinoza says: “I will analyze the actions and appetites of men as if it were a question of lines, of planes, and of solids.


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Author Bio


  • NameWilliam James
  • DescriptionAmerican philosopher, psychologist, and pragmatist
  • BornJanuary 11, 1842
  • DiedAugust 26, 1910
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionPhilosopher; Psychologist; Parapsychologist; Pragmatist