William James (1842-1910) psychologist/philosopher
In his study of personal religious experiences James made distinctions between the 'healthy-minded' and 'sick-souled' religiousness. Individuals predisposed to healthy-mindedness he said, tend to ignore the evil in the world and focus on the positive and the good.
James used examples of then Walt Whitman and the "mind-cure" religious movement to illustrate healthy-mindedness writing in his Book "The Varieties of Religious Experience".
By contrast, individuals predisposed to having a sick-souled religion are unable to ignore evil and suffering, and thus need a unifying experience, religious or otherwise, to reconcile good and evil. James quoted Leo Tolstoy and John Bunyan to illustrate the sick soul.
William James' "hypothesis of pragmatism" stems from what he cites as the efficacy of religion. If an individual believes in and performs religious activities, and those actions happen to work, then that practice appears the proper choice for the individual. However, if the processes of religion have little efficacy, then there is no rationality for continuing the practice.
Thinking on these:
Does personal religious experience and resulting mindful good works only reinforce religon for a person? What of the inability to successfully accomplish these on a regular basis, does it eventually diminish the spirit? Will it finally cause one to do less good works daily and extinguish the power of religon?
In his study of personal religious experiences James made distinctions between the 'healthy-minded' and 'sick-souled' religiousness. Individuals predisposed to healthy-mindedness he said, tend to ignore the evil in the world and focus on the positive and the good.
James used examples of then Walt Whitman and the "mind-cure" religious movement to illustrate healthy-mindedness writing in his Book "The Varieties of Religious Experience".
By contrast, individuals predisposed to having a sick-souled religion are unable to ignore evil and suffering, and thus need a unifying experience, religious or otherwise, to reconcile good and evil. James quoted Leo Tolstoy and John Bunyan to illustrate the sick soul.
William James' "hypothesis of pragmatism" stems from what he cites as the efficacy of religion. If an individual believes in and performs religious activities, and those actions happen to work, then that practice appears the proper choice for the individual. However, if the processes of religion have little efficacy, then there is no rationality for continuing the practice.
Thinking on these:
Does personal religious experience and resulting mindful good works only reinforce religon for a person? What of the inability to successfully accomplish these on a regular basis, does it eventually diminish the spirit? Will it finally cause one to do less good works daily and extinguish the power of religon?
