James C.S. Wernham's Books

James's Will-To-Believe Doctrine

By: James C.S. Wernham

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James's Will-To-Believe Doctrine

By: James C.S. Wernham

In 1896 William James published an essay entitled The Will to Believe, in which he defended the legitimacy of religious faith against the attacks of such champions of scientific method as W.K. Clifford and Thomas Huxley. James's work quickly became one of the most important writings in the philosophy of religious belief. James Wernham analyses James's arguments, discusses his relation to Pascal and Renouvier, and considers the interpretations, and misinterpretations, of James's major critics. Wernham shows convincingly that James was unaware of many destructive ambiguitities in his own doctrines and arguments, although clear and consistent in his view that our obligation to believe in theism is not a moral but a prudential obligation -- a foolish-not-to-believe doctrine, rather than a not-immoral-to-believe one. Wernham also shows that the doctrine is best read as affirming the wisdom of gambling that God exists, a notion which James failed to distinguish from believing and which, among other things, he explicitly identified with faith. James's pragmatism, a theory concerning the meaning of truth, is shown to be quite distinct from the doctrine of The Will to Believe. In concentrating on a careful analysis of this doctrine of the will-to-believe, Wernham not only makes a major contribution to understanding James's philosophy, but also clarifies issues in the philosophy of religion and in the analysis of belief and faith.

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141

Publisher

McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published Date

ISBN 10

077356117X

ISBN 13

9780773561175

Mysticism and Vocation

By: James R. Horne

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Mysticism and Vocation

By: James R. Horne

We tend to think that a person who is both reasonable and moral can have a good life. What constitutes a life that is not only good but superlative, or even “marvellous” or “holy”? Those who have such lives are called sages, heroes or saints, and their lives can display great integrity as well as integration with a transformative “Spiritual Presence.” Does it follow that saints are perfect people? Is there a common vision that impels them to seek holiness? In a controversial interpretation of mysticism Horne suggests that there is no single formula for the meaning of life and no one story that displays it to us. Mysticism, rather than being just a visionary perception, then becomes a problem-solving process that brings about a creative transformation of the personality at a critical stage in life. He suggests also that saints may be imperfect morally and describes true saints as double-minded: they are serious in a playful way. Mysticism and Vocation illuminates our understanding of saintly lives by explicating their mystical characteristics and extending discussions of mysticism to explain its role in active lives. In discussing important decisions that go beyond conventional morality, it adds to recent philosophical arguments by Charles Taylor, Alasdair MacIntyre, Iris Murdoch, Bernard Williams and others to the effect that morality should be defined more broadly to deal with the human condition. This book will be of interest to students of philosophy and religious studies, in both graduate and undergraduate programs.

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Page Count

121

Publisher

Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0889207704

ISBN 13

9780889207707

James's Will-To-Believe Doctrine

By: James C.S. Wernham

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James's Will-To-Believe Doctrine

By: James C.S. Wernham

Average ratings

N/A

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

141

Publisher

McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published Date

ISBN 10

077356117X

ISBN 13

9780773561175

Book's by James C.S. Wernham

James's Will-To-Believe Doctrine

James's Will-To-Believe Doctrine

Mysticism and Vocation

Mysticism and Vocation

James's Will-To-Believe Doctrine

James's Will-To-Believe Doctrine

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