Customer Reviews

The Varieties of Religious Experience

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I actually had to buy this book for a college class so I wasn't expecting to enjoy it too much. Required reading often bores me to tears. But this book actually held my interest from start to finish. Studying the common threads between religion in different cultures was interesting. It's hard to believe this book was not written recently. Of all the required reading I've had to do in college this book had the greatest effect on me.

William James approaches the topic of this book as philosopher and experimental psychologist. Conversion, repentance, mysticism, hopes of reward and fears of punishment in the hereafter are studied with boldness, sympathy and the unbiased common sense of science. The result is a book that has become a living force in religious literature and has continued to sustain James's fame as one of the world's greatest philosophers. If you want a great overview of the religious experience in all its forms and practices, this book is for you.

This remarkable work remains one of the most influential books on the interface of psychology and spirituality. The style is accessible and consistently interesting with well-reasoned arguments. Religions are not compared; the study is restricted to the experiences of the individual. The field of study is clearly defined and circumscribed. Chapter titles include Religion & Neurology, the Reality of the Unseen, the Religion of Healthy-Mindedness, the Sick Soul, the Divided Self & the Process of Unification, Conversion, Saintliness, Mysticism and Philosophy.

James considers the feelings, actions and experiences of individuals, insofar as they understand themselves to be in a relationship with whatever they consider the Divine. It thus deals with the spirituality of everyday life and has nothing to do with churches, doctrine or dogma. This is similar to what emerges when Geza Vermes explores the Authentic Gospel of Jesus; there's very little on doctrine but much about attitudes, relationships and behavior towards others.

Dealing objectively with a wide spectrum of observed and personally related religious experiences, James quotes from the autobiographical writings of famous authors, theologians and mystics from many traditions including Whitman, Luther, Voltaire, Emerson and Tolstoy. He mentions the importance of the passionate side of religion and its power of adding enchantment to life. Although it is not a difficult read, patience is called for since every sentence is loaded with multiple layers of meaning; one often has to reread a previous paragraph in order to fully grasp and properly process the insights and information. A mindful, meditative study of the text will richly reward the reader.

In his own words: "Both thought and feeling are determinants of conduct, and the same conduct may be determined either by feeling or thought. When we survey the whole field of religion, we find a great variety in the thoughts that have prevailed there; but the feelings on the one hand and the conduct on the other are almost always the same, for Stoic, Christian and Buddhist saints are practically indistinguishable in their lives. The theories which religion generates, being thus variable, are secondary. If you wish to grasp its essence, you must look to the feelings and the conduct as being the more constant elements."

As a comprehensive & thorough survey it offers valuable insights, revelations and points to ponder that contribute significantly to the reader's understanding of consciousness, psychological processes, mystic states, thought, emotion and the individual's relationship with the Eternal Divine. Simultaneously serving as a trenchant plea for religious tolerance, it sometimes read like a gripping novel, especially the chapters on the religion of healthy-mindedness, the sick soul, and mysticism.

Other works on psychology, religion and/or spirituality that I have found inspiring or informative are The Creative Process in the Individual by Thomas Troward, Religion in the Making by Alfred North Whitehead, The Hidden Power of the Bible by Ernest Holmes, Alter Your Life by Emmet Fox, Cracking the Bible Code by Jeffrey Satinover and above all, A Psychology of Hope by Kaplan and Schwarz.

This is the second time through, and I am surprised at how much I overlooked the first time. A must read for anyone who is interested in religion.

My review is based on the very personal and helpful experience I had when I first read this book. I was at my wit's end, trying to hold on to Conservative Christianity while studying Philosophy at a small liberal arts college. There was no room to keep my "faith" in a separate little box, I was there to test it.

What I found was validation for my religious experiences AND the variety in James' examples. Religion and it's mystical aspects seem to be a natural, if not universal, experience for mankind which respects no particular theology.

James helped my exit from fundamentalism go a little softer. Also, I personally sensed I would like him personally if I'd ever met him.

A worthy subject,bringing philosophy back to its Socratic roots in our humanity,reconciling emotions with rationality. Emotions are an important part of an active,searching and thinking human being.The human world is full of emotions not because we are animals at heart,but rather because it is still full of signals that elate or threaten,and replete with events or people that produce discrepancies or interruptions,creating visceral responses. In the VRE,James examined the biographies of people who reported a belief that `there is an unseen order,and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto'.Such beliefs were subjective, but nonetheless real to the experiencer,and they had manifest effects on the individual's conduct.When such effects were `good',the individual was right to exercise the `will to believe', although not to insist that others share the same belief. Pragmatic philosophy emphasised usefulness rather than truth.The truth of which he spoke was not absolute but relative to each individual.'First born' people are sunny optimists,'second born' are people beset by doubts, depression and suicidal thoughts,redeemed by their belief in a benevolent higher being.

The `pluralistic and unfinished universe' had undiscovered potentialities,which different individuals might make actual through the hypotheses they held,the choices they made,and the purposes they pursued.The particulars of religious faith are true insofar as they provide the believer with emotional fulfilment.Also the mind is part of the body,and that an individual's mental adjustments are in fact environmental responses.The relationship of mind to world,is using it to control choice,effort and will,making adjustments, modified by deterministic factors such as heredity and biology.In this he comes close to Meaurleau-Ponty's phenomenology.He was the coiner of wonderful phrases like 'divided self','mental state','subliminal consciousness','subconscious'.He influenced important thinkers like Jung and Wittgenstein.We learn through him the difference between 'belief in God' and 'belief in the existence of God',we're not talking about proofs but about benefits

Bill Wilson, who "graduated" the program of Alcoholics Anonymous (he was a co-founder) on January 24, 1971; mentioned this book in the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

AA is an offshoot of the Oxford Group, however, they had basically been banned by the Pope, so Wilson made sure not to mention anything related to the four absolutes (absolute love, and three others I'd have to go look up) lest the piss off the Pope and thus hurt all the Catholic's chances of getting any help.

Please note, if you were a lush in the early 30's (AA started in 1935) you were going to drink yourself to death (and it's the NASTIEST death I've ever seen-trumps cancer). You suffered tremendously emotionally, spiritually, physically, with tremors, severe hangovers, shakes, you can't work, everyone hates you or worse yet, pities you, you vomit a lot, you bleed severely from your anus once you damage yourself badly enough...and worst of all is the mental torture. You hate the world and everyone in it all the time. No matter how bad yesterday was, you want a damn drink NOW. Alcohol and benzodiazepines (valium and xanax) are the only two drugs that can kill you during withdrawl and DT's.

I've seen DT's. They suck. This man sweated through a pair of blue jeans, and a sweatshirt. He had to lay naked in the bed. He doesn't speak clearly of anything in the present. He thinks ghosts are coming to get him. He thinks demons are after him. Many desperate drunks report this and tell of honest prayer making it go away. Vomiting tends to be involved if you man isn't Polish--they never vomit, I don't know why. And they drink insane amounts of alcohol.

At this point, they HAVE to have a drink so they literally don't die. Which they're likely to refuse, as well as any necessary medical help. This is torture for everyone in the room with them.

Wilson also soon discovered drunks don't like to be told what to do, ESPECIALLY ANYTHING like "absolutes." This is where AA divided from the Oxford Group.

The steps and the idea of surrendering life to some sort of God or Higher Power, Great Intelligence, whatever, clearly evolved from that group. Now, this book was used in research to discover OTHER WAYS, besides AA (of which was in its infancy at the time, and kiddies, there WAS NO INTERNET) of becoming free of the alcohol obsession and subsequent allergy once started on drinking (thus the "completely stupid, insanely drunk" type of high you see in alcoholics.

Drunks think they're morally bad, they don't realize they're spiritually sick.

What they found, via this book, was that it's possible to have some sort of spiritual experience or spiritual awakening that stopped all that nonsense. Sometimes, it's just a "moment of clarity." Those unfamiliar with the minds of drunks don't know ALL of us have had this great fantasy that some day, somehow, we'll be able to drink like normal people. You know, have one or two and quit, rather that get in a fight, projectile vomit in the car while driving home, get arrested for DUI, knock ourselves unconscious on the bathtub edge (so we think, we were sorta blacked out at the time, a BIG, honking RED LIGHT of alcoholism), and of course, have to call all our friends, and find out excactly whose time we monopolized last night for hours in full drunken whining, who's pissed at us and why THIS TIME. VERY bad, volatile relationships. Deep love of excitement. I love Hemis, I love motorcycles, and if I wasn't terrified of heights, I'd be a bungee jumper. But a big fight with a drunken boyfriend (while I was sober, no less!!!) will do the job.

It ain't love until someone files a restraining order.

So, at one point, I managed to pull this neat 'lil trick off. I drank like a "normal person." THEN it turns out, I was still f'ing nuts. Making phone calls and being very angry (big, bad sign, again of a drunk) whilst pretty much sober. uh-oh. Time to quit. There's my "moment of clarity."

Please recall, that making a long-distance phone call (to another state) was expensive and a VERY big deal for most people at that time. TV was of course, non-existent, and radio was basically television's equivalent. Mailing stuff was a real form of communication, not just a cute novelty used at Christmas. Also remember, the interstate wasn't to be invented for some, what, 20 years yet, so even car travel was a big deal. Plus, cars in the thirties aren't what we have now. Most people couldn't really afford to do plane rides like today. There are whole huge stretches of abandoned businesses all over this country. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of nothing where there used to be a LOT of commerce from families taking road trips. See Route 66, especially, and anything well-preserved in the southwest.

The year the big book came out, (1939) four years after the society started, Gone with the Wind and the Wizard of Oz competed for Best Picture that year (the former won, with Hattie McDaniel being first black woman ever to win an Academy Award for best supporting actress). Speaking of, segregation was still alive and well (I'm being sarcastic, of course) for decades yet.

And, mind, you, this book pre-dates the big book, (obviously) so for ANY publication to still be at all relevant at least 75 years after it's publication is really impressive and great writing. Try writing a whole book and not mention ANYTHING that would make it sound dated 100 years from now. Good luck. No history, no electronics, no cars, no appliances could be mentioned at all. because of course, nothing we have now will be around, much less relevant (including all of us, pretty much)
100 years from now.

My memory seems to say that this is the only book mentioned by name in 575 pages of Alcoholics Anonymous. I seem to recall Emmet Fox being the only author mentioned (without a book), as it also pre-dates the big book. I recommend them both. Everone knows at least one lush...

This reprinted edition does not follow the pagination of the original edition. For classroom or academic purposes, it is generally preferable to use the Prometheus Books edition, the Penguin Classics editon, or the Dover edition, all of which follow the original pagination.