William James · Philosophy

The Varieties of Religious Experience

James’s empirical study of religion from the inside - not creeds or institutions but the lived experiences of individuals: the once-born and the twice-born, conversion, saintliness, and mysticism - judged not by their roots but by their fruits.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that James studied religion empirically through personal experience (not institutions), distinguished the healthy-minded ‘once-born’ from the ‘sick soul’ twice-born, gave four marks of mysticism, and judged religious experience ‘by its fruits, not its roots.’ Explain the…

Leads to Sigmund Freud.

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