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The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature is a book by Harvard University psychologist and philosopher William James.It comprises his edited Gifford Lectures on natural theology, which were delivered at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland between 1901 and 1902.
(—William James, "The Sentiment of Rationality") The doctrine James developed in his "The Will to Believe" lecture was later extended by his protégé F. C. S. Schiller in his lengthy essay "Axioms as Postulates". In this work, Schiller downplays the connection between James' doctrine and religious positions like God and immortality.
William James in Brazil, 1865. William James was born at the Astor House in New York City on January 11, 1842. He was the son of Henry James Sr., a noted and independently wealthy Swedenborgian theologian well acquainted with the literary and intellectual elites of his day.
A religious experience (sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, mystical experience) is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. [1] The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defense against the growing rationalism of Western society. [2] William James popularised the concept. [2]
American psychologist and philosopher William James (1842–1910) is regarded by most psychologists of religion as the founder of the field. [13] He served as president of the American Psychological Association, and wrote one of the first psychology textbooks. In the psychology of religion, James' influence endures.
William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, OUP: 2012 [1902] (ISBN 978-0199691647). Kai-man Kwan, "The Argument from Religious Experience" in The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology . John Polkinghorne , The Faith of a Physicist , Fortress Press: 1996 ( ISBN 978-0800629700 ), and Belief in God in an Age of Science , YUP: 1998 ...
William James published many works on the subject of religious experience. His four key characteristics of religious experience are: 'passivity', 'ineffability', 'a noetic quality', and 'transiency'. Due to the fact that religious experience is fundamentally ineffable, it is impossible to hold a coherent discussion of it using public language.
William James wrote The Varieties of Religious Experience, 1902. Closely related to knowledge and belief is how to interpret religious experiences and their potential for providing knowledge. [46] Religious experiences have been recorded throughout all cultures and are widely diverse.