Open AccessThe Hermeneutical Keys to William James’s Philosophy of Religion: Protestant Impulses, Vital Belief
Author(s) -
David J. Zehnder
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
forum philosophicum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2353-7043
pISSN - 1426-1898
DOI - 10.35765/forphil.2010.1502.21
Subject(s) - faith , protestantism , gospel , philosophy , religious studies , religious belief , religious philosophy , philosophy of religion , rationalism , theology , epistemology , sociology , western philosophy
This essay argues that the American psychologist and philosopher William James should be viewed in the Lutheran Reformation’s tradition because this viewpoint offers the hermeneutical key to his philosophy of religion. Though James obviously didn’t ascribe to biblical authority, he expressed the following religious sensibilities made possible by Martin Luther and his contemporaries: 1) challenge of prevailing systems, 2) anti-rationalism, 3) being pro-religious experience and dynamic belief, 4) need for a personal, caring God, and also 5) a gospel of religious comfort. This essay asks, in one specific form, how religious concerns can hold steady over time but cause very different expressions of faith.