What William James thinks about mental models

@william-james · 56 positions · On ppll ↗

American philosopher and psychologist (1842 to 1910); studied at Harvard; author of The Principles of Psychology (1890), The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) and Pragmatism (1907).

William James did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

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Only William James on mental models. See everyone on mental models

5 dated positions, c. 1906–1907, in their own words. Our reading of what William James has said — not written or endorsed by them.

1. c. 1906–1907

   Our readingTheories are instruments for moving forward, not answers to rest in

   Their wordsTHEORIES THUS BECOME INSTRUMENTS, NOT ANSWERS TO ENIGMAS, IN WHICH WE CAN REST. We don't lie back upon them, we move forward, and, on occasion, make nature over again by their aid.

   ↗Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking (1907)gutenberg.org All 20 from this book

3. c. 1906–1907

   Our readingIn a real world of sweat and dirt, a noble view of things seemingly ought to count against its truth

   Their wordsIn this real world of sweat and dirt, it seems to me that when a view of things is 'noble,' that ought to count as a presumption against its truth, and as a philosophic disqualification.

   ↗Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking (1907)gutenberg.org All 20 from this book

5. c. 1906–1907

   Our readingOur basic ways of thinking are discoveries of remote ancestors that have persisted ever since

   Their wordsMy thesis now is this, that OUR FUNDAMENTAL WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT THINGS ARE DISCOVERIES OF EXCEEDINGLY REMOTE ANCESTORS, WHICH HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PRESERVE THEMSELVES THROUGHOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF ALL SUBSEQUENT TIME.

   ↗Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking (1907)gutenberg.org All 20 from this book

7. c. 1906–1907

   Our readingTruth is not a fixed property of an idea; events make an idea true

   Their wordsThe truth of an idea is not a stagnant property inherent in it. Truth HAPPENS to an idea. It BECOMES true, is MADE true by events.

   ↗Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking (1907)gutenberg.org All 20 from this book

9. c. 1906–1907

   Our readingThe true is what is expedient in thinking, as the right is in behaving

   Their words'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.

   ↗Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking (1907)gutenberg.org All 20 from this book