William James Quotes
We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood.
William James, 1842-1910, Psychologist & Philosopher, Quoted in Forbes, January 3, 1994
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Although this quotation has been cited by many scholars, none has yet given a primary citation. As a result a few researchers question the attribution to Keynes and argue that the first primary source of this notion was the Nobel Laureate in Economics Paul Samuelson -- Quote {645739}. However, even Samuelson attributed this quotation to Keynes although he did not do so at this particualr interview.
See {627632} for an earlier advocy of change when circumstances warrant and {636175} for a modern view.
Most politicians would never do this. Ideologues rarely analyze their beliefs. Pragmatic politicians are fearful of being called a flip flopper with no core principles. However, some politicians follow this advice. For example, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt were both among the rare politicians who would frequently change positions as they learned more. See John Maynard Keynes {619441} for a personal statement of this principle and {636175} for a modern view.
The earliest expression of this idea was by the British Economist John Maynard Keynes -- Quotation {610150}
William James was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the late nineteenth century, one of the most influential philosophers of the United States, and the "Father of American psychology".
