The will of belief, by William James

The individual human being in the philosophy of James has a generous share, for history emanates from him and all philosophy begins with him. He is the apparent force that elevates and lowers the community, and his action is the guide to life. "God placed both life and death, good and evil, before him, and told him choose life over death so that you and your offspring may live." James emphasized the importance of individual paradoxes and their role in social development, and discussed a single moral system assumed by moral philosophy, reaching the origin of moral judgments and the origin of good and evil, and how to establish the relationship between ethics and religion. He also presented psychological treatment for pessimism suffered by many. Number of pages: 174