Two Arguments Against Some Critics of Religion Based on Feeling and Emotion Following William James

In this paper I will show that you can distinguish two main types of argumentation in respect to feeling and emotions in the philosophy of religion of William James, which point to two different kind of criticism of religion. Especially in his early works, James argues that you may lawfully adopt re...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thörner, Katja 1976- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: University of Innsbruck in cooperation with the John Hick Centre for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Birmingham [2014]
In: European journal for philosophy of religion
Year: 2014, Volume: 6, Issue: 3, Pages: 207-224
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B The varieties of religious experience, James, William / Religious experience / Critique of religion
IxTheo Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
AE Psychology of religion
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Volltext (teilw. kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:In this paper I will show that you can distinguish two main types of argumentation in respect to feeling and emotions in the philosophy of religion of William James, which point to two different kind of criticism of religion. Especially in his early works, James argues that you may lawfully adopt religious beliefs on the basis of passional grounds. This argumentation points to a type of criticism of religion, which denies that beliefs based on such emotional grounds may be justified. In his famous study The Varieties of Religious Experience, James defines religious experience as an experience of inner conversion, where the individual gets in touch with a higher self. The philosophical interpretation of religious experience points not at least to a type of criticism of religion in the tradition of Ludwig Feuerbach, which is known as the theory of projection.
Contains:Enthalten in: European journal for philosophy of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.24204/ejpr.v6i3.171