William James Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) (1902) - Page 19

LECTURE XVIII

PHILOSOPHY . . . . . . . . . . . 430

The primacy of feeling in religion, with philosophy acting as a secondary function, 430. Intellectualism attempts to avoid subjective standards in its theological constructions, 433. ‘Dogmatic theology,’ 436. A critique of its explanation of God’s attributes, 442. ‘Pragmatism’ as a method for testing the value of concepts, 444. God’s metaphysical attributes have no practical significance, 445. His moral attributes are supported by weak arguments; the collapse of systematic theology, 448. Does transcendental idealism fare any better? Its principles, 449. Quotations from John Caird, 450. These are useful as restatements of religious experience, but they are not convincing as logical proofs, 453. What philosophy can achieve for religion by transforming itself into a ‘science of religions,’ 455.

LECTURE XIX

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS . . . . . . . . . . 458

Aesthetic elements in religion, 458. The contrast between Catholicism and Protestantism, 461. Sacrifice and Confession, 462. Prayer, 463. Religion maintains that spiritual work is genuinely accomplished through prayer, 465. Three levels of opinion regarding what is accomplished, 467. First level, 468. Second level, 472. Third level, 474. Automatisms involuntary actions or thoughts, often attributed to external or subconscious forces, their frequency among religious leaders, 478. Jewish examples, 479. Mohammed, 481. Joseph Smith, 482. Religion and the subconscious region in general, 483.

LECTURE XX

CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . 485

A summary of religious characteristics, 485. Individual religions need not be identical, 487. The ‘science of religions’ can only suggest, not proclaim, a religious creed, 489. Is religion a ‘survival’ of primitive thought? 490. Modern science excludes the concept of personality referring here to the belief in a personal God or agency, 491. Anthropomorphism attributing human characteristics to God and belief in personal forces characterized pre-scientific thought, 493. Personal forces are real, despite this, 498. Scientific objects are abstractions; only individualized experiences are concrete, 498. Religion holds fast to the concrete, 500. Primarily, religion is a biological reaction, 504. Its simplest terms are an uneasiness and a deliverance; a description of that deliverance, 508. Ques-