1. What is the author's thesis regarding the nature of religion? Based on reading the short story of "William James: The Testimony of Religious Experience," I can conclude that his main argument and belief was that people who examined their religious belief ... separation from god, and then the hope of forgiveness. 2. What evidence does the author appeal to in defense of this position on the nature religion? William James divided the people into two different categories which he named as the "sick soul" and "healthy-mindedness." People with sick soul seem to ... "Systematic healthy-mindedness...

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Rudolph Otto is more sympathetic than William James. He describes religious experience as a kind of "creature feeling". Where as James with his psychological background tends to be more clinical. Both of them refer to the experience as being mystical. James makes one of his main points that a religious experience is experienced through someone with ... be questioned. Another is that the experience is transitory. The mystic seems unable to maintain the experience for a great length of time. Although James does not go into the factors of why it cannot be sustained many different religions have t...

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... to have evidence, or is it? This question, including the nature of evidence, is one that both W.K. Clifford and William James try to answer. For Clifford "it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone to believe anything upon insufficient evidence" (118). But for ... Answering this question naturally led to James. William James, The Will to Believe James" believes that in certain situations, with a genuine option, it is right to make a decision using faith. In James" theory a genuine option is one that is forced, living, and momentous. Generally speaking James is referring to questions ...

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... analyze unbroken flow of perceptions, thoughts and feelings in the walking mind (Abrams 34, 167, 195; Anonymous 2013; Child, Fewland 224). William James used the first time the phrase "stream of consciousness" in Principles of Psychology. According to William James, "thought" has five characters and these are, namely, the tendency to be part of a personal consciousness, evolution of ... each personal consciousness, reasonable consistency of thought, dealing with objects independent of itself and concerns some parts of these objects to the exclusion of others and welcomes or reject (James...

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... samurai code. The ideas of German philosophers Martin Heidegger and Arthur Schopenhauer resemble the philosophies of Taoism and Buddhism, respectively. The ideas of American philosopher William James and the ideas contained in Buddhism are also connected. Other Western philosophical ideas are connected with eastern thought. There are similarities between eastern and western philosophy ... believed that human practices are essentially situational. Real life practices are always challenging abstract principles that are generalizing human nature or the moral character in all situations. Will...

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... are also two more mystical states which are not so closely defined as the states mentioned before. They also do classify as states, according to William James who wrote a whole lecture over this very topic including the two other types called Transiency and Passivity. Day dreams are often times very common ... body it controls through relaxation, diet, and concentration through the mind. Yoga means "the experimental union of the individual with the divine" (Vivekananda-James.) A super consciousness is reached while in the mediation state of this art which in turn in then linked to the div...

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In 1892 William James wrote that "A man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him."" It was a statement that was true over a century ago and still holds true today. Man has, as James calls it, a "false self- whereas one must learn to divorce that being and transform to one capable of ... monk, and years later reveals his life-changing story to an old friend. A conversion results when God or religion becomes the center of habitual energy. According to William James there are four main steps in a religious conversion. The first is some experience, or phenomenon that f...

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... In the more modern days, around the late 1800's and early 1900's a Philosopher who's major concern in Philosophy was emotions, was William James. William James was born In New York City in 1842, who was taught at private school while in New York. James attended the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard and enters into medical school. He went on an Amazon expedition with his teacher ... down with smallpox. He suffered so much pain that he went into a state of depression. A few years after this incident, James withdrew from medicine and was appointed the Assistant Professor of Philosophy ...

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... order to get to Germany I would first find myself a better job, which led me to teacher Sophomore English at Harvard at Cambridge University. As I was teaching I came into contact with William James, a then professor at the University. I decided that I would take classes under him because of the way he handled the information presented. I enjoyed learning under him so much I presented my ... . During my stay in Leipzig I witnessed the founding of the first official psychological laboratory. The entire time I was studying under Wundt I kept in contact with my professor and friend, William...

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... to the truth. Some pragmatists questioned the usefulness of the idea of truth, stating that in evaluating our beliefs we should pay attention to the penalty that our beliefs have. William James defined the pragmatist theory of truth, as "an idea is "true" so long as to believe it manifestly false. It is obvious to any person that a proposition is either true ... or false separately of the utility of our belief in it. Pragmatist philosophers twisted the meanings of words, so we have to make logical sense of pragmatism. William James, qualified his attitude by saying that a proposition's ...

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... missed him so much that she entered the nearby Radcliffe College in 1893. She took took courses in psychology and philosophy growing a strong relationship to her philosophy teacher William James a strong relation to her. James once told her "I hope you will pardon me if I recognize some of the features of my ideal student as your own,"" (Ellensplace). During her finals she left a note ... to Mr. James saying, " Dear Mr. James, I am very sorry, but I have been to the opera 5 nights this week, and it is such a beautiful day that I could not possibly answer these questions."" Later she rec...

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... is a reflection of my values and may be different from the values and, therefore, actions of other daughters. According to William James, a person has as many social selves as individuals who recognize them and carry an image of them. Although I agree with James, I must say that I also believe that we are a mixture of all of our roles. With the use of the next ... ...

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... not just an idea of a bundle. I think experience definitely shapes us though. Archer and I perceive things differently. He is a headstrong and confrontational individual, where I tend to be more passive-aggressive. William James, the American psychologist and philosopher, poses the question "our bodies themselves, are they simply ours, or are they us?" " He defines a man's self" as the sum total of all that ... that experience stays with us. After my grandparents passed away I took all the memories I had and what they taught me. That part still lives within me". For a man's social self,...

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... that he is going to soon pass and nothing can be done to stop the inevitable, but, in contrast, he feels that what if he can live. According to philosopher William James, this would be a living option. By this it is meant that this decision is live because it whichever he decides will greatly affect his remaining lifespan and will to survive ... ...

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... to the truth. Some pragmatists questioned the usefulness of the idea of truth, stating that in evaluating our beliefs we should pay attention to the penalty that our beliefs have. William James defined the pragmatist theory of truth, as "an idea is "true" so long as to believe it manifestly false. It is obvious to any person that a propositions. Beliefs cover everything ... ...

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... take; they punish their child for bad behavior, as if the child is responsible; they regret making certain choices, as if it could be any other way. The famous philosopher, William James, comments on this topic in his essay, "The Dilemma of Determinism" which states that regret would be impossible in a deterministic world (Questions that Matter 417). He goes on to say ... ...

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