Meaning

William James is pointing to something he considered a bedrock fact of human psychology: that people do not simply want to be tolerated or even liked, they want to feel genuinely valued. The word "craving" is important here. It is stronger than "desire" or "preference," suggesting that the need for appreciation is not a polite wish but something close to a hunger. This insight implies that acknowledgment and recognition are not luxuries in human relationships but genuine necessities.

Context

William James was one of the most influential thinkers in the development of modern psychology and philosophy in the United States. He wrote and lectured extensively on human motivation, emotion, habit, and the nature of the self. This observation reflects his broader interest in understanding what actually drives human behavior, as opposed to what people assume or wish drove it. His approach was pragmatic and grounded in real experience, and statements like this one demonstrate his gift for capturing something complex in plain, memorable language.

About the author

William James lived from 1842 to 1910 and spent much of his academic career at Harvard University, where he taught philosophy and psychology. He is often credited as one of the founding figures of American psychology and the philosophical movement known as pragmatism. His books addressed topics ranging from religious experience to habit formation to the nature of truth. His writing style was notably accessible for a serious thinker of his era, which helped his ideas reach a wide audience both during his lifetime and afterward.