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An 11 page paper on William James, the American philosopher-- his life & works. The writer explores philosophies presentedi n several of James' works including : "Will to Believe and "Varieties of Religious Experience." Bibliography lists 8 sources.
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11 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_Willjame.doc
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part of psychologys general undermining of religious faith." Yes, James was questioning the theory of religion at the time he wrote The Will
to Believe in 1897. It could appear to some that he was overly skeptical in his scientific evaluations, and that because of his writings, he did not have true
"faith," but James concerned himself very much with religious faith, and Varieties of Religious Experience was the result of that study. History
Born January 11, 1842, in New York City, James grew up with gifted siblings, among them Henry and Alice James. William was highly curious, independent and creative. While recovering
from an illness, he studied German, French and English literature, read books on physiology, neurology, psychology and philosophy, corresponded with scholars and contemporaries, and became philosophically rooted in the doctrine
of materialistic determinism and free will, a corollary doctrine. (Fonda) At the age of 28, James was tormented by the existence of evil
which brought him to the brink of suicide (Shull Online). He says, "Can one with full knowledge...ever bring ones self so to sympathize with the total process of the
universe as heartily to assent to the evil that seems inherent in its details?" (Thought & Character, Volume I, Perry, 322) (Shull Online).
In his melancholia, he envision "...a horrible fear of my own existence. Simultaneously there arose in my mind the image of an epileptic patient whom I had seen in the
asylum, a black-haired youth with greenish skin, entirely idiotic, who used to sit all day on one of the benches....That shape am I, I felt, potentially..." (Varieties of Religious Experience
...