Habit: William James on Habit, Will, Truth, and the Meaning of Life

The radical modern philosopher and father of American psychology, William James found habit and will to be the secret of a good life. He elaborated this discovery into a philosophy of life that runs through his many scintillating writings, ranging from psychology and religion to pragmatism and war. Always he urged people to cultivate habits of mind---especially the habits of will, including the power to break bad habits---that give us self-mastery, alert us to truth, equip us to act, and lend zest to life. "Education is for behavior, and habits are the stuff of which behavior exists." In the Introduction James Sloan Allen shows how William James came to his philosophy of life and how he played it out in ideas and works that have immediate value today. In the selections that follow, we see William James weaving his philosophy through classic writings on habit and its uses, consciousness and the discipline of will, and the efficacy of belief and clues to morality.

William James (1842-1910) was a psychologist and philosopher, and the brother of Henry James.