The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature

William James (1842-1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. He studied medicine with an emphasis on the nervous system and psychology at Harvard, but he never practiced. Instead, he spent his life as a scholar, mentoring young thinkers while pursuing his interest in the intersection between psychology and philosophy. Most of his career was spent teaching at Harvard on a variety of subjects, including physiology, anatomy, and philosophy. Throughout his life, James developed academic relationships with many major figures, including Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, John Dewey, and Mark Twain.

James was born into a wealthy family; his father was a theologian who cultivated a culture of intellectualism and writing in his home. William’s brother Henry, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times, wrote famous works such as The Portrait of a Lady, The Turn of the Screw, and The Ambassadors. William was close to his sister Alice who, like William, had a mental health condition. Like many women during the 19th century, Alice’s condition was dismissed by medical professionals as “hysteria.” Alice chronicled her health issues in her diaries, which were published after her death. Her writing was praised for being ahead of its time.

Their father, Henry James Sr., was committed to the denomination Swedenborgianism, which was named after Emanuel Swedenborg and blended Christianity, science, and mysticism. James Sr. claimed to have experienced vastation—a type of spiritual regeneration or purification—one evening while looking into the fire after supper. The incident shook him, but reading the work of Swedenborg helped him to make sense of his spirituality. The influence of William’s family is revealed in his exploration of how religion contributes to mental well-being.

In addition to his family, he enjoyed other communities of thinking and learning. While at Harvard, James and others formed a group called The Metaphysical Club where the concept of pragmatism is suggested to have first originated. James was committed to pragmatism throughout his life, believing that functionality was central to research. As a teacher, James had an impressive roster of students: Theodore Roosevelt, Gertrude Stein, W. E. B. Du Bois, and others. As a writer, James was prolific. One bibliography of his works reaches a length of 47 pages. Despite the volume of his work, he found writing tedious. His 1,200-page work The Principles of Psychology (1890), which became a canonical text for the field, took him 10 more years to write than the promised two. In 2002, James was listed as the 14th “Most Eminent Psychologists of the 20th Century” by Review of General Psychology. His writing influenced many thinkers, such as Bertrand Russell and Edmund Husserl.

James outlined several key concepts which continue to influence contemporary psychology, philosophy, and art. He developed the term “stream of consciousness” to refer to the way human thought feels as though it flows like a stream. James argued that consciousness is ongoing and never stops, connecting to his theory of radical empiricism. This philosophy asserts that nothing can be viewed objectively because experience is ever-changing and cannot be halted. Authors like James Joyce and Jack Kerouac have used stream of consciousness techniques in their writing to mimic the way many people experience their inner consciousness.

James’s interest in conscious experience expanded to a study of the intersection of religion and psychology. In his essay “The Will to Believe” (1897), James suggests that humans are justified in adhering to beliefs that are devoid of evidence. His argument reveals his pragmatism: James argues that humans have the right to beliefs that serve practical functions for their well-being. James explains his own personal belief that religion helps humans to connect with otherwise inaccessible parts of reality. The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) is a collection of James’s Gifford Lectures contributions which expand upon his early writing on religion. These lectures were part of a series that began in 1887 which took place at University of St. Andrews, University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh, and University of Aberdeen. Appointment to the Gifford Lectures was considered a high honor: Hannah Arendt, John Dewey, and Carl Sagan have all participated in the series.