The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature

by William James, Martin E. Marty (Editor), Martin E. Marty (Introduction)

Overview

Standing at the crossroads of psychology and religion, this catalyzing work applied the scientific method to a field abounding in abstract theory. William James believed that individual religious experiences, rather than the precepts of organized religions, were the backbone of the world's religious life. His discussions of conversion, repentance, mysticism and saintliness, and his observations on actual, personal religious experiences - all support this thesis. In his introduction, Martin E. Marty discusses how James's pluralistic view of religion led to his remarkable tolerance of extreme forms of religious behaviour, his challenging, highly original theories, and his welcome lack of pretension in all of his observations on the individual and the divine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780140390346
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/16/1982
Series:	Penguin Classics Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	576
Sales rank:	54,531
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Older brother of novelist Henry James, William James (1842-1910) was a philosopher, psychologist, physiologist, and professor at Harvard. James has influenced such twentieth-century thinkers as Richard Rorty, Jurgen Habermans, Michel Foucault, and Julia Kristeva.

Table of Contents

Introduction by Martin E. Marty
Suggestions for Further Reading
A Note on the Text The Varieties of Religious Experience

Editorial Reviews

"The most notable of all books in the field of the psychology of religion." —Walter Houston Clark, Psychology Today

From the Publisher