Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 'The Varieties of Religious Experience' by William James.
The American novelist Henry James famously made London his home and
himself more English than the English. In contrast, his psychologist
brother, William, was deeply immersed in his American heritage.
But in 1901, William came to Britain.
He had been invited to deliver a series of prestigious public lectures in Edinburgh.
In them, he attempted a daringly original intellectual project.
For the first time, here was a close-up examination of religion not
as a body of beliefs, but as an intimate personal experience.
When the lectures were printed, as 'The Varieties of Religious Experience', they were an instant success.
They laid the ground for a whole new area of study - the psychology
of religion - and influenced figures from the psychiatrist Carl Jung to
the novelist Aldous Huxley.
To date, James's book has been reprinted thirty-six times and has
been hailed as one of the best non-fiction books of the twentieth
century.
With:
Jonathan Ree, Freelance philosopher
John Haldane, Professor of Philosophy at the University of St Andrews
Gwen Griffith-Dickson, Emeritus Professor of Divinity at Gresham College and Director of the Lokahi Foundation
John Haldane, Professor of Philosophy at the University of St Andrews
Gwen Griffith-Dickson, Emeritus Professor of Divinity at Gresham College and Director of the Lokahi Foundation
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