Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Varieties of Religious Experience
The Varieties of Religious Experience
The Varieties of Religious Experience
Ebook638 pages11 hours

The Varieties of Religious Experience

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

In The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature, Dr. William James takes aim at the nature of religion from a scientific/academic point of view-something that had, until this landmark work, been sorely missed. James believed that the study of the origin of an object or concept should not play a role in the study of its value. As an example, he alluded to the Quaker religion and its founder, George Fox. Many scientists immediately reject all aspects of the Quaker religion because evidence suggests that Fox was schizophrenic. Calling this rejection medical materialism, he insisted that the origin of Fox's notions about religion should not be considered when placing a value on them. He pointed out that many believed El Greco to have suffered from astigmatism, yet no one would dismiss his art based on this medical detail. "Scientific theories are organically conditioned just as much as religious emotions are; and if we only knew the facts intimately enough, we should doubtless see 'the liver' determining the dicta of the sturdy atheist as decisively as it does those of the Methodist under conviction anxious about his soul. When it alters in one way the blood that percolates it, we get the Methodist, when in another way, we get the atheist form of mind."- Dr. William James
LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 19, 2013
ISBN9781625586834

Read more from Dr. William James

Related to The Varieties of Religious Experience

Related ebooks

Religion & Science For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Varieties of Religious Experience

Rating: 3.886543627440633 out of 5 stars
4/5

379 ratings15 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Understanding Religious Experiences This book contains lectures given by William James in Scotland in which he examines diverse religious experiences in search of their meaning. The lectures formed a systematic work and are written in a clear way. James’s conception of pragmatism - the emphasis in the experimental method and the idea of meaning that dismiss hard/dogmatic truth - influences the exposition. The lectures deal with many personal expositions of religious experiences - the ways in which they are exposed and their meanings for each and everyone involved. James gives his analysis of these various episodes and tries to elaborate a grand narrative. In search of understanding, one finds tolerance toward the diverse religious attitudes. A book worth reading (listening).
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Early qualitative research. Appreciate the pragmatism of approach/philosophy.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A brilliant exposition by a brilliant mind. Hard to imagine how one set of parents gave birth to two such brilliant men: William and his brother Henry.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This had a profound experience on my faith, both negative and positive. It made clear that the ideas I had previously used to defend my faith were inadequate, butcleared the way for my developing others.It convinced me that conversion and mysterical experiences were objective phenomena, but not always Christian ones.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Undoubtedly William James most popular book, I found this to be, as it always is with James, a joy to read. His style kept me going when both the combination strange ideas and impenetrable prose of his cited examples retarded my progress. His focus on the individuality of experience was what struck me as central and certainly most important to me - the mature individualist that I am. While I was not convinced by the mysticism surveyed or the various rationalizations of religious pondering, I came away with a better sense of this type of thought. Unlike Santayana I was not bothered by the focus on "religious disease" or "sick souls", but my perspective, unlike his, is a bit more rational, if not more reasonable. On the whole a very good book about a subject that is spiritual in many ways.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The basis of any understanding I might have of comparative religion.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I wore a copy of this book out, and replaced it in the early nineties with this edition. It is both a worthy reference (still, more than 100 years after it was first written), and a pleasure to read.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    A dry and brutally boring read. I know it is supposed to be a classic but 19th century religious psychology is not for me I guess. However, there were a few gems within this tome. I now know where the "streams of consciousness" idea comes from. Maybe its being so immersed in the world right now makes reading about individuals who turn their back on it seem a waste of time.Originally published in 1902
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I am actually glad I read this. It was rather educational. Maybe the most educational example in here is poor old Henry Suso. Yup, he of the "undergarment studded with a hundred and fifty brass nails, sharpened and so fixed as to pierce his skin".Thomas Paine dismissed this kind of nonsense easily a hundred years before James in The Age of Reason. Someone else's private "revelations" are nothing to me.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    James' atheistic arrogance and sarcasm drip through almost every page. This pretentious and deceitful pseudo-enlightenment of our privileged class is appalling and leads us to the effete socialism of Greece, Italy, France, Spain, etc.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A good, although difficult, read. How does human nature act upon our perceptions of what we consider supernatural? There is validity to our spiritual bent. It comes about through culture and belief. The validity of that belief is independent of scientific verification.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    James asks: "Who know whether the faithfulness of individuals here below to their poor over-beliefs may not actually help God in turn be more effectively faithful to his own greater tasks?"James asserts the need for psychology to study individual spiritual experiences. This being a legitimate and often fruitful occurrence with practical effects. He gives account of many individuals and their stories, and studies the thread recurring in many of them, the core being love of God and others, the feeling of relief and all will be alright as taken care of by something greater than oneself.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    James describes the phenomena of many different kinds of religious experineces in this book. It is a very analytical look at an emotional / spiritual subject. He appears to keep objective throughout, but we all know in the end that is immpossible. It was more objective than I think I could ever be. Again, another book on philosophy that while good, I found incomplete. Some day I am going to begin to write my own thoughts so that I will have a book to read that at least attempts to cover everything I'm looking for.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    William James presented the "Gifford Lectures on Natural Theology" at the University of Edinburgh as 10 lectures each in 1901 and 1902, and later published his edited lecture notes as this book. James presents a psychology, a philosophy, and a science of religion, aspects of which are both remarkably modern and out-dated. His use of first-person narratives (many quoted from E.D. Starbuck's 1899 "The Psychology of Religion" -- full text available at books.google.com) provides a database which he then uses to build his thesis. Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and most directly Carl Sagan ("Varieties of Scientific Experience") all build on this foundation. The clearly (and stated) Anglo-Protestant perspective which James takes dates this work, but the read is still more than worthwhile. The first 15 lectures (or so) present his "psychological" data, while the remaining lectures provide his philosophical and "scientific" conclusions. Now on to "The Varieties of Religious Experience: Centenary Essays" by Michel Ferrari and "William James and a Science of Religions: Reexperiencing The Varieties of Religious Experience" by Wayne Proudfoot. [Proudfoot edited the B&N version of "Varieties" and provides a good introductory chapter.]
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The book, The Varieties of Religious Experience, by William James is the result of the 1901 Gifford Lectures on Natural religion at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. My edition was published in 1958. William James was an American psychology professor (Harvard University). He came to philosophy late in his life.As can be expected of a non-fiction book written in the early part of the last century (1901-2), it is dense. The vocabulary and grammar are a bit stiff and academic. As can be expected of a book that has remained in print for over a century, Varieties in Religious Experience is a fascinating, landmark book.It takes over 20 pages to define religion as it will be discussed in the lectures/book. “Religion, therefore, as I now ask you arbitrarily to take it, shall mean for us the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine.” is a quotation from the middle of this discussion, which further defines divine so that it includes the non concrete divine such as in Emerson's Natural Law and Buddhism's atheism.James' view is of individual extremes of religious emotions, objects, and acts. Apparent unity is artificial, and it is in the variety where one finds the reality of religious inspiration and truth.This is the first draft of this review, which will be continued when I finish the book, which will be a while, as it is an incredibly dense book.

Book preview

The Varieties of Religious Experience - Dr. William James

.abook_preview_excerpt.html}ے#ɑݯov)J4mz=MM!d'2T5KȪhŇawK_w7ͻ/?w6?y6߽u/6O|f4]i.ϛḙtmf>7a37r\f6tn}f9v_֥fa,6t0liv־6/cڧOqq˝>{}'n)uؒW#۬>4{[ιiy8'm/e6?; 7Wyy@x%mJ<ᦷk3߉+^l'˩sz2?o}1o/Ipy شI:LL''6Twq4z<\vv9>rcQÞJBwH'z^Lx..s{I8[SX]~,3Й8-f-U\}3J||k.F;sq`q_TV SSyȲ'?PNMscf=ӰiV&I7tYld_i:Sgl4 Iͪm;#'8{I$ˆ縌TX}3$0o͵ŶhGضϽÓ/2LV)~*CTڅqq&JGj`lL/v7][\f\uoL-arsu DGA?f8ZѢZùO8tN\. 5V*f!rΦ`ˮiQÅw$y<',N8TC:Vy8/7VaN| wre?LXtʧ!N4N7\&u3bK?./au-#5-}Tn@\u7F/#ѮChgC {Mug_]KX@'@Эrsy2$ fۿ]_hkG۰p/J>- ̓^m1+]і׳ݙV3S|V\~x:b~?Q3[Y[Nmgq╯iXS7mB|f;a| )n?RZm2v];$ᵸPG{^(f N&ܮw TݓkcfN}{kH _yQ<\-ӁdIC2=җRz4=<倬< dnCg>#8?7pgM(ҵGmcrÓU{*j\i2鞒vҾf7MzGTgiF:CxCҨH*~6'fjQ71舶{ݻZ79Rrְ.9hFlmpۚNr:W͂[!~cFq&={\ uj]޷=%|ȓHI0'd0qף)@C\iu7yI7F2-6 ø"x--yuItW߯ivZwI{:"7= naXvjФY$;LW.)Tg& JWi+By3ضkO a:]ѮpG :efV!7߹Ώ l#O (ʡmƁAer/!75G !^5԰rb${9=@!iV=du,swXa2ș/L?6Ri@B?)i n~~/<_sЄs:|Qvv|>YA,8_m`xS` / ؁6i`LW*~]&1C#Cܳ~>"4z@KSkxYM NO8n=B_='icDb'Y2MWn SAcוTV\ڹ`GiQ.-"[G)T{B3K? \};ifMi^dڀo- g;vaÔY҄x۲B]ͅAf˄?;x:4CaKyڙQ$fz_'F?1wowN3de;F!asār at{FNkWVWMmDNU [ă/P2;@g,q+w u R "$Vy.)^ |g(T+dbJ%Cır.TўI xhs9?6GAeuApˤO SjKq.B7pH9^X: #2/Q?V^r<:6?k.qcj㕶" vlBIޮ -#5kmyG5+pȥ 0 Y:KČ>uvcEIҾeǐ[5;=ϾF i.u\u: 9-<,R *㗄%-o0GFlN[ur<C007}W\mQC2H K*փƛR0B>bKב"a6_ځ@kfMG 7}t@_< 0%:cOD:_a╇tĜfʁ#9 Ņy کMGB?;͈a8ǁф Tba _ z`ka"8#mQb*e"Rj[3-z6_bmiFigݳ o>|LK Tnv'hݭRϢW L¤ +щC_L"JxWgⓒ7V% =vi`xbǿoflkY] B(onj%D}ׂ%;j{(盶z4pkNv?ߛq~-{#|n0\Gxmʃaכ`0R%L e8TaKAx| h"m<|rNPB~vVӟAAy#՜=U;^?XJSL])(f2J2bqz#BTE t4怓" n;>BqQ+uik7fZ 4gqKc_S㻒ag(Obam ylӧP'>$4M B74H_z޼2_$s',peW͐--:W'a}1%8%E 7Q.ދ{{[X6'$`d5FpYc-ayrdmBlu⑥Yi`FC4HdL$v;Ny? v%lo0# xfK8Ψ-í$_lak36"9 S\¼#Ӗɴ4-x lH\V.RQrEVʿl a~A#;@wУxK3<]ꀃ*58 E;>E,S(:p't:wu~X&8EcץB)] nIϟL(*<A $$q 7# =f,r%[,Ƿ ``=@$;wmg*>6y}gޕl/n MO=TY |?uNTN O1ɱӠ$ro+5z > ~#e+(}soiQ ><sp7_%*3@AHl;IP=A^7pa1a ?"l,>GSbAT=_^PCJ~pd.;Fp~udh)KB|;ͫit]2V0+c  žYf.@-0F0 5sBkAR*y? !4jcBaJѠchޘ^QQ;4<;hW;XCˡf H![QxDL%>΀`;½_-<(M$Ⱐ4>D._.xNdVYt6i,擫F/F;nNNގa oٞZs>upj;tK"J_"U6^ij 3}SU@ćqPKGAx:xImE.23:'ȇ|oH@o79'2:fznC ?t- f*vq/ظ~~qs^2҇D"]¤$"PKV,}k15=6& +);(<*U=B}lQ? ڴQ2Kg)$C6d\[wn(%퉘JZEL@>^Ib$ɮ20= @OC=m ?2ԜN46J@[%Y6*W ad׹ų#1IbHKA|$;-< ǁ5F4vf(-&^q:(:rY}2])+ ^.SٿLX'XG8"2#>3 Qbt%w+Olt`+[h!?\\ T̑wfb}SQ[XX~@DagZ0L'Sէ3@&Kc.=B֋>#3HW,%_G{G vGxgekN62B_Ufd7_ysO\W)R9&u@I:P`< .2\A;@p2ǍĹik k`ap9g垅$H 8NPȋձ* ]ÞZIc{UwU"KҸo\pMӚ4yoWHJܧt=z]O] E߉RHvtм'<-ffzYU)}ADqꀆ;X-;02;= 7e)U7VV4N%0*+AĆRr4AJvBŢ_U)8o~2岓D]]`}+?=Pa!5Z6JZNa8ٚrj!e@&o*] D>LV\K0sTWf'89iS xR7f=^DW7SZ[J놛tt./6%H{Ndg:*4`wDt==eì@fL4fs23t"FPGsD7?@ I)t΃8W&8}M ]r/[/{U8fkN( I…#tL⧻CRܔ $&E,t: g  9q汕 aenXpаK2iQ΀ K39)*%:w9/~̠Hz",2lLUvf2 B}哉=mznMCW^ѤO&ӟ.$JL3U5AU2&T{>--;u&06O^cfBnò=o0^m6Gʵ_؟ș:/UMؑEH7c~8cCr[EH ~rBN߳/Ϟ"Kg|` &tЦ-9_wfMo"=cىp":]NIO.S^V/ɐ@{:Nz_!]ɜ ҎvO~`7;DQ-qJy;RCcOfS Q9gR*ŷ_L̞Sgd1Ԅ\:NWXዀ-RAaƇeXrzEf~됦2[qq^DTYX>qL(!Za޷jmR%ܻۊX_t߉^F[k9q8c U~ o2 ǬorBd"9giUQ)a/ҾEɗgP8]c(!o>}޿1 &z6-[;=?n2S Nm6+QV~]Tct"lGu 0!xE]R~j^%J`۫VЃ;@loqh"·mi8Ahe#s!''<Up͝:tun §ZAmz oi˹Cnn7=D?5݋TitbckbJ2Y}_Q)ߵh6*HbJsrՔIطW'٧1n忙ckXzFr+`so,~iCLY8W]5 6w:Ŏ"L7 h^3`hjUa.`UJH3m5bP^[êm l+ xO{T)V &8٫1Xk]&!Ah}]NwWy@0* .mxjJsdCiس<`$wgBT} @\uey`i:N&B챹*{Tr,}DepفΠ%!&P$hnR/ysrgAs=)s @ &THU=F7D~6ucmu ݈ d ̣wM{!:n(C5Jl]ILg!Q?oyW+N;n6TO3t*ʫ xsD]6c$u8e(m>w-?>Us49]hu*YY5N|Yb["!8's|lsvm$]ei4w?/ݯ6/ۃ{O[=BzPK &Hw򓂶 HBgJr03`ƙت)dNOxxBrY5s 9ru b?$p׎SpaǔsLx֧a@X(WT߁9T0( \wH(gn'j) w״\~F$4QĎ!EA$\w̅:9shX/rd1d\8#c:!1OJs '0s.<睋!sC^)G^NSFo'^:@V$+[flV aFEq,D>2lAQЉzSQQzx? +B!zT0c~>Wao\01`FK׺F>Zȑvyrbd_pZlםXfs[9gP_װOAЕPjiu14au쪯b?|tY Gg=U3woAd7FT>Ұܬ35>g2ekazM~$vpEٳɥ޿o~ስG;xo޻8m!W`JV=:Zۉ¨}B72.jt ": $PF[Vf@>qC]PC^DvFW9Hʩ0~՜mumfOm$֘A''ujlWנj**QBg<~lM >slxjQՐS9z6dP٢+k"yfc,;s`6d> +sx250`ĢG m{o'E\#'h8n$(@f9չ^[b끑v6/CI<j+M*ӺB }4+ESeI{VyJb.ĸҝ<"tfIoϙ뱸Iz)ļOn dLOٽW.1?u>䪂|;iyE$Dc2%@0n^1*@[/^I\dsyԋ8İ$X?p_c@N3NzfH~S# yoS^aqڲݑ5v^5M?yU ˈb ,fKvuVi;?v_T2AuPpΪ"\C!VV\`ճؐqRK_ <ޟ3 >LX1#|> Syb(o((٪cg`' Z],>4(C}@^* =$8Ulhb>Qw|SCvJP3!rF@o:t/Anz9+6 +|@}'\S`>:kAYG5$,[|B%F&j`]GZ&ߟ_pTwx^K[e>#Ez]}MYoa~ *cO^?RǷ|ߵefAĥ;:pV>9̥us8zGZ>lTuq"$T:>29`*7Ռq>/i4'}˯0nO_٪<݇hK|iq;o\ֶwnͧvd%2ɓ^/EU *.kiȳ(\1栤mq1OQ{ԕ? }Px+ 6)K^+%/>iYQP8+.= 7ְ4&⓸8#wGgrBn9TwWwFy_DպHwZzYK5 ct~+"*Xṭ*_~*%[:r+NDtohݟ P3we1CEcjq"_]k@^,f%yQHQ !_T_I_^I#m>EfP$_巙g%̃!94ǷsIji ZMP9 "۟ 9Uuu5|?>(({j @WNˁs㠦 {WPt95AW`쫨%Miq3+36>J赐lpDAog:i}pi fM˿g罭Q[9JPpV:̙3z ӧ*0Zߕ~lz1[_?P]9m]3dj/>M-|0CH?bZ1grCqÊ6j"]A-@Tys`Wy7 LHsl.3TQBޯyEPj[\F0b_RfIM5HT6,U7)JYaGd0tޖjW7U}v帾Xk6.XϪ ⪛욎xz;c霼{O.Y̗5@r=y&m̽bũ1_p8k33i#RbJ^7r4Q1]/4 \U%a}玧}mgwDVKMďG}B;oIoSb?9w)ң?!dFǙjf?čs[ KR^V(ע 2'yM3:lʑ_J2"ocaQbfs4būb6N-䙈1d(&/P#8HSqh.GB]u?<&AjS^Xr~L`a$2"yIz,xWn*d[x.: DSC9*Gq"a!,NB1y#NqNa9 3 6߈ u-c麻jM56={ ȩƀɻJς#/g/#Էtzi2q, HoN}M-T:-YfWy0$jmq֦;0D͞Z/5Lff69I\*f^ik?SWzz9.Q1iuDF#$n2L Dch2@j+hrR+r_{\O%gL斔tm:wD6v㬳)Sjhڶ?&*ڇ٤$sOV>l2cd*B]!x.:pKrsә#[1ZtR=lzC5U۶ d af+Z9ƹD#)Py)BjBX,D;LYFoN"`xWHwpPDŽ/Զq_R=fiUv4ThwABM@7WoɧsKDMLDl{\=x\n2OTɰ~SN"3Jqǽ2ES 5N{طqQW ~7 PqAJu@8*ey% :hr*G捍-79,'WF҇%8K@4uanfq"".18{|\ EȞaT{^Rz+Z9-# JʖFlb\l9j]hM%r|Yc J(k\:` JzYx2rn\DA 2@olU9jU;<[EA{1 G%MV'H=~H%S 0q̳jgWVh!ab2\yU3ebD{m`p(pȪj°'Խ dTK sjT:Muq۬ t4Ukt3zLB^]VWjO#ar#)'~E^$5t$X,rX0 t5fׅ{!rT 3_LN5Q2u-kWnɌ hlT.kn˛~LI7/UJ_t(ע̯6Z&VRTb7ΞiG /# 3}xFVHeB|Fƽ\v *LFI;pJ;=%]}pkYR0g6(Ǥ"Swc% g):p&$:UNݑm#)aZWڞ5"՞R11}bu"}T덻1YdDw.h_3תݤ\p@ .Hfߦth2r&+)70vZc15uV `NKsʑ`\gbj_K,x% 垍{avw s/#v6dz6T(mj>}K\\~>ӐgK ®1sLG^󇜇 p2# {K!x=xjx¹{Xji;RTi`|zuUuWow4RXVlJ^~Sٻ*IT}@fT]|[gO ͆3ako>u_ L׭}޾=&Odo׏3SG\ c*[޷ TTV/ i,oQWӼ𷹊hB{`h[҉s5A /{=_Ey cEwa>gͳ`{Z>sdVL7BZESw"*9a= aR9\^pC+Y[ABm7\tjj2:9Vz8W}IZ##%rK>LUj70s?qIʽ'{# 3#g~q\ _!1l?&q1F7o~Ug΀2aay:R 7{;ycwRH}]ނ;zNb 0}YI9jי',o+#Lה!UcD/g51"t K Rxi|QT%V > }Mj2{/=X3rw]ڳ!i$ˍ<uo3!:)8HrR0ټ9vs_s'hBq4rEPrZ/`cthӮVRt"NJqHRL;HJDgȋG1:kNFɵc/ǜœ8Բpbj\kdSkmӢL:.Ol}MA&HUH=vlwHyNRΣgxBT?ИM9KpT:a{,4Z. ުQґYc\!S r(v#Ϸ4|Gx8u:yo5HPMkMG1=WSѨ9E5{F+ 9= {Sd,72y:qhN0Nyɮ@3{)n\J-M+t-VtzصlѪn]!8yDыg FwG8ɯhn>R VBʾTow_~6m|?~w|?<|i?o{<#r5l9lO FfI ŝE GG˾ݮĥVtAg ʧnU޾uT[S2 oJCZGaᷩ1k[SG(P!4/jښYu?Jx5oI{Z;>\H@, {n YM4JOںl'@;]Vi*Y EIt7(2.2wYZ9o"tۗPvSm/=֩}J,mK|NS"f Fz2OG`2*OTxȮkY*j^Zw9!-G7`R?lR2~bEW#?QO8feVSل*xn˜rE|j b++Lk}.lޓ |;޸{_wItAڶ'/1wƚbM=Ԓ]3Uy^u!ZOf< (+X!r3!pQH)24A (D $~-,5_M[(Pg;qMQ_qG:h|e»~2pQ851cnjc%ހcx^Gu6ڻsre$OgpΫz bg~%Ma/(*nwӃ|*!έu:2zyp8g (u%TT2{'+=Z\MFU|H2ot=Acx8ؤu `NFӺYJ쵰H2iW!i {y(5f;_\HO GaY '`?[PmW8ё ul4E;4h$.$"He,uv0fHiˡU%t.2qv]'toOD΁tQ@>P %J\KygEibc.(Mf-]jɶYԭ,|/M&h+&V5Dx :Gu^j Sy.<rHTE NQׅb t+N4!w\Йk{ QnWǔ^
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1