William James Varieties of Religious Experience (1902)

liam Hamilton’s classroom. Hamilton’s own lectures were the first philosophical writings I ever forced myself to study, and after that, I was immersed in Dugald Stewart and Thomas Brown. Such juvenile emotions of reverence are never outgrown; and I confess that to find my humble self promoted from my native wilderness to be, for the time being, an official here, and transformed into a colleague of these illustrious names, feels as much like a dream as it does reality.

But since I have received the honor of this appointment, I felt that it would be impossible to decline. The academic career has its heroic obligations, so I stand here without further apologies. Let me say only this: now that the current, here and at Aberdeen, has begun to run from west to east, I hope it may continue. As the years go by, I hope many of my countrymen will be asked to lecture in Scottish universities, swapping places with Scotsmen lecturing in the United States. I hope our peoples may become, in all these higher matters, as one people, and that the unique philosophical and political temperament associated with our English speech may increasingly influence the world.

Regarding how I shall manage this lectureship, I am neither a theologian, nor a scholar learned in the history of religions, nor an anthropologist. Psychology is the only branch of learning in which I am particularly skilled. To the psychologist, the religious tendencies of man must be at least as interesting as any other aspect of his mental constitution. It would seem, therefore, that, as a psychologist, the natural approach for me would be to invite you to a descriptive survey of those religious tendencies.