“It is as if a man should hesitate indefinitely to ask a certain woman to marry him because he was not perfectly sure that she would prove an angel after he brought her home. Would he not cut himself off from that particular angel-possibility as decisively as if he went and married some one else? Scepticism, then, is not avoidance of option; it is option of a certain particular kind of risk. Better risk loss of truth than chance of error,-that is your faith-vetoer's exact position. He is actively playing his stake as much as the believer is; he is backing the field against the religious hypothesis, just as the believer is backing the religious hypothesis against the field.”

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Originally said in English.

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About William James

American psychologist and philosopher, late 19th to early 20th century. He founded functional psychology and explored the interplay between mind and body, emphasizing practical experience and individual freedom. His work on pragmatism and religious belief remains influential in both academic and personal thought.

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"It is as if a man should hesitate indefinitely to ask a certain woman…" — William James | Daily Quotes