One of the greatest works of nonfiction of the twentieth century, William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience was revolutionary in its view of religious life as centered not within the church, but solely within "the feelings, acts, and experience of individual men in their solitude."
Using the language of psychology, James tries to explain religious phenomena--such as conversion, repentance, mysticism, and saintliness--as psychic energy that arises from the unconscious mind in times of trouble. To support his theories, James turns to the autobiographical writings of a wide variety of mystics and writers, including Walt Whitman, Martin Luther, Voltaire, Emerson, and Tolstoy. The result is a colorful and wide-ranging collection of recorded experiences that James compares, categorizes, and analyzes. Many of his categories have become standard in the study of religions, such as the sick soul, the divided self, and healthy-mindedness.
About the Author
William James (1842–1910), brother of writer Henry James, was born in New York and studied medicine at Harvard, where he taught from 1872; James continued on to write books and become one of the most renowned psychologist-philosophers in the Western world. His other famous works include Principles of Psychology (1890) and Pragmatism (1907).
Wayne Proudfoot is Professor of Religion at Columbia University, specializing in the philosophy of religion. He has published Religious Experience, as well as articles on William James, Charles Sanders Peirce, and American Protestant thought.
