William James and The Varieties of Religious Experience

William James''s The Varieties of Religious Experience was an intellectual landmark, paving the way for current study of psychology, philosophy and religious studies. In this new companion to the Varieties, key international experts provide contemporary responses to James''s book, exploring its seminal historical importance and its modern significance. Locating the Varieties within the context of James''s other works and exploring James''s views on psychology, mysticism, religious experience, emotion and truth, the sixteen articles offer new analyses of the Varieties from the perspectives of postcolonial theory, history, social theory and philosophy. As the only critical work dedicated to the cross-disciplinary influence of The Varieties of Religious Experience, this book testifies to William James''s genius and ongoing legacy.

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Table of contents : Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Introduction The Centenary and the Varieties of Interpretation, Jeremy Carrette Section 1: James and the History of Psychology Chapter 1: Metaphysics and Consciousness in James's Varieties: Origins, Meaning, and Effects, Eugene Taylor Chapter 2: Psychologies as Ontology-Making Practices: William James and the Pluralities of Psychological Experience, Sonu Shamdasani Section 2: James, Psychology and Religion Chapter 3: Listening to James a Century Later: The Varieties as a Resource for Renewing the Psychology of Religion, David Wulff Chapter 4: The Varieties, the Principles and psychology of religion: Unremitting inspiration from a different source, Jacob Belzen Chapter 5: Passionate Belief: William James, Emotion and Religious Experience, Jeremy Carrette Section 3: James and Mysticism Chapter 6: For an Engaged Reading: William James and the Varieties of Postmodern Religious Experience, Grace Jantzen
Chapter 7: Asian Religions and Mysticism: The Legacy of William James in the history of Religions, Richard King
Chapter 8: James and Freud on Mysticism, Robert Segal Chapter 9: Mystical Assessments: Jamesian Reflections on Spiritual Judgements, G. William Barnard Section 4: James and Philosophy Chapter 10: Varieties of Experience and Pluralities of Perspectives, Ruth Putnam Chapter 11: The Ecumenicalism of William James, Richard Gale Chapter 12: James on Truth (Again), Hilary Putnam Chapter 13: Pragmatism and Religious Belief in William James, Graham Bird Chapter 14: William James as a Religious Realist, T.L.S. Sprigge Chapter 15: James' Arationality and its Religious Extremum in the Light of the Concept of Pure Experience, Michel Weber Conclusion Experience and the Value of Religion: Overview and Analysis, David C. Lamberth

Contributor Information :Jeremy Carrette, Eugene Taylor, Sonu Shamdasani, David Wulff, Jacob A. Belzen, Grace M. Jantzen, Richard King, Robert Segal, G. William Barnard, Ruth Anna Putnam, Richard Gale, Hilary Putnam, Graham Bird, T. L. S. Sprigge, Michael Weber, David C. Lamberth