Critically Assess With Reference To William James The Argument From Religious
Critically assess, with reference to William James, the argument from religious experience.
A religious experience is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. Refer to cases where a person encounters God in a direct way. Otto said the central element of direct was an ‘apprehension of the wholly other’, called the numinous. This means the world that is beyond the physical observable universe in which we live. They are experiences of the wholly other; completely outside our possible knowledge and experience. The ways religious experiences are described are often with words such as awe, wonder and beauty, but the actual nature of the experience was ineffable; James agreed with this. Direct experiences involve experience of God and are ineffable. One reason for this is that experiences are always of an object, but of a sensation, feeling or awareness directly in the mind of the person. Direct experiences aren’t just about seeing God, but being aware of him in an intimate and personal way. Ordinary experiences do not involve God, though they may be ineffable. Indirect experiences refers to experiences where the mind of an individual focuses on god. Acts of prayer and worship are also indirect experiences, as God is not directly revealed to the person or knowledge revealed. Instead the person learns something about God through what they observe. Some people suggest they are not different to ordinary experiences, but just have significance to the individual.
One could use Swinburne's explanation of the varieties of religious experiences as public and private experiences to assess the argument from religious experiences. Swinburne's public experience are made up of ordinary and extraordinary experiences. An ordinary experience being when a person interprets a natural event as having religious significance such as natural beauty for instance. Swinburne's private experiences can be experiences which are describable in ordinary language
A religious experience is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. Refer to cases where a person encounters God in a direct way. Otto said the central element of direct was an ‘apprehension of the wholly other’, called the numinous. This means the world that is beyond the physical observable universe in which we live. They are experiences of the wholly other; completely outside our possible knowledge and experience. The ways religious experiences are described are often with words such as awe, wonder and beauty, but the actual nature of the experience was ineffable; James agreed with this. Direct experiences involve experience of God and are ineffable. One reason for this is that experiences are always of an object, but of a sensation, feeling or awareness directly in the mind of the person. Direct experiences aren’t just about seeing God, but being aware of him in an intimate and personal way. Ordinary experiences do not involve God, though they may be ineffable. Indirect experiences refers to experiences where the mind of an individual focuses on god. Acts of prayer and worship are also indirect experiences, as God is not directly revealed to the person or knowledge revealed. Instead the person learns something about God through what they observe. Some people suggest they are not different to ordinary experiences, but just have significance to the individual.
One could use Swinburne's explanation of the varieties of religious experiences as public and private experiences to assess the argument from religious experiences. Swinburne's public experience are made up of ordinary and extraordinary experiences. An ordinary experience being when a person interprets a natural event as having religious significance such as natural beauty for instance. Swinburne's private experiences can be experiences which are describable in ordinary language