FREEDOM AND LIFE
Many people believed, including William James, that his age would be a time of optimism, but he was met with quite the opposite. He found that most people during that time actually experienced a condition known as "anhedonia." This is a feeling of melancholy that made them unable to experience pleasure.
For much of William James's life, he experienced depression and life crises that led to much of his thinking and writings. Life, however, involves many despairs and sadness that come along with it, but for some people, it hits harder than for others. Anywhere you look, you will see people who are struggling, but then you will also see people who look calm, collected, and put together. You might think in your mind, "Wow, I wish my life were so much easier like theirs." This is where you would be making assumptions, and in reality, these people are just better at masking their true feelings.
In this chapter, it differentiates the difference between sick-souled people and healthy minds. The author states that sick souls would be people who tend to look more carefully at life and see what the healthy minds don't see, and that is that no matter what, everyone has a fate, but not in the best way. He also explains how impending doom is written into our future and is not something that we can rewrite.
If you can embrace and experience the darker and lower parts of life, then it will lead you to more growth and stronger mental health. The main takeaway I got from this chapter is that while experiencing hardships through life isn't a sign of weakness or helplessness, but rather a way for you to learn and grow. The more challenged in life you are, the better prepared you are.
ARTICLES BY WILLIAM JAMES
-His outlook and thoughts on life:
- This article explores the suicidal view of life and says that there is no meaning in life. That is, unless there is something like an order that purposefully adds meaning to our lives.
-Something he wrote on the belief that it is rational to hold beliefs without evidence, and was mainly contrary to religious beliefs at the time
The Meaning Of Truth
This one talks about how in life, ideas are only considered true if they are useful and effective.
You need to lengthen this, and embed those sources in the text as links.
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