"As there is no worse lie than..." - Quote by William James
As there is no worse lie than a truth misunderstood by those who hear it, so reasonable arguments, challenges to magnanimity, and appeals to sympathy or justice, are folly when we are dealing with human crocodiles and boa-constrictors.
More by William James
“Science can tell us what exists; but to compare the worths, both of what exists and of what does not exist, we must consult not science, but what Pascal calls our heart.”
“To improve the golden moment of opportunity, and catch the good that is within our reach, is the great art of life.”
“Our theories are wedged and controlled as nothing else is. Yet sometimes alternative theoretic formulas are equally compatible with all the truths we know, and then we choose between them for subjective reasons. We choose the kind of theory to which we are already partial: we follow 'elegenace' or 'economy'”
More on Truth
“Perhaps a lunatic was simply a minority of one.”
“If a crooked stick is before you, you need not explain how crooked it is. Lay a straight one down by the side of it, and the work is well done. Preach the truth, and error will stand abashed in its presence.”
“You may lie with your mouth, but with the mouth you make as you do so you none the less tell the truth.”
More on Communication
“Conversation is our account of ourselves...Conversation is the vent of character as well as thoughts...It is the laboratory of the student.”
“Knowledge can be enormously costly, and is often scattered in widely uneven fragments, too small to be individually usable in decision making. The communication and coordination of these scattered fragments of knowledge is one of the basic problems- perhaps the basic problem- of any society.”
“Many a treasure besides Ali Baba's is unlocked with a verbal key.”