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Title: The Varieties of Religious Experience

Author: William James

Posting Date: August 3, 2008 [EBook #621]
Release Date: August, 1996

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE ***

Produced by Charles Keller.

THE VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

A Study in Human Nature

BY WILLIAM JAMES

To
E.P.G.
IN FILIAL GRATITUDE AND LOVE

CONTENTS

LECTURE I

RELIGION AND NEUROLOGY

Introduction: the course is not anthropological, but deals with
personal documents-- Questions of fact and questions of value-- In
point of fact, the religious are often neurotic-- Criticism of medical
materialism, which condemns religion on that account-- Theory that
religion has a sexual origin refuted-- All states of mind are neurally
conditioned-- Their significance must be tested not by their origin but
by the value of their fruits-- Three criteria of value; origin useless
as a criterion-- Advantages of the psychopathic temperament when a
superior intellect goes with it--especially for the religious life.

LECTURE II

CIRCUMSCRIPTION OF THE TOPIC

Futility of simple definitions of religion-- No one specific "religious
sentiment"-- Institutional and personal religion-- We confine ourselves
to the personal branch-- Definition of religion for the purpose of
these lectures-- Meaning of the term "divine"-- The divine is what
prompts SOLEMN reactions-- Impossible to make our definitions sharp--
We must study the more extreme cases-- Two ways of accepting the
universe-- Religion is more enthusiastic than philosophy-- Its
characteristic is enthusiasm in solemn emotion-- Its ability to
overcome unhappiness-- Need of such a faculty from the biological point
of view.

LECTURE III

THE REALITY OF THE UNSEEN

Percepts versus abstract concepts-- Influence of the latter on belief--
Kant's theological Ideas-- We have a sense of reality other than that
given by the special senses-- Examples of "sense of presence"-- The
feeling of unreality-- Sense of a divine presence: exa