SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 



89 



SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 



PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION. 



' The Varieties of Religious Expe- 

 rience ' is the interesting title of Pro- 

 fessor William James's most recent vol- 

 ume, ' being the Gilford. Lectures on 

 Natural Religion delivered at Edin- 

 burgh in 1901-1902.' It is ' a study in 

 human nature,' a contribution to the 

 empirical psychology of man's religious 

 constitution, and as such marks an 

 innovation in the course pursued by 

 Gifford lecturers, who had previously 

 concerned themselves with the philos- 

 ophy of religion or its history objec- 

 tively considered. It was a happy 

 thought which set Professor James the 

 difficult and delicate task of analyzing 

 the subjective phenomena of the relig- 

 ious life or, rather, of religious lives. 



In the attempt to classify types of 

 religious experience, the author has 

 laid under extensive contribution auto- 

 biographical documents which represent 

 all manner of sects in and out of Chris- 

 tendom. The chapters abound in quota- 

 tions from the extravagant deliver- 

 ances of these souls, selected to empha- 

 size the several tendencies in an ex- 

 treme form. 



The scope of the book may be sug- 

 gested by the titles of some of the 

 chapters : ' Religion and Neurology,' 

 'The Reality of the Unseen,' 'The 

 Religion of Healthy Mindedness,' ' The 

 Sick Soul,' ' The Divided Self and the 

 Process of its Unification,' ' Conversion,' 

 ' Saintliness,' ' Mysticism,' ' Philos- 

 ophy,' etc. 



While this book is principally occu- 

 pied with a descriptive account of re 

 ligious experiences, and a sharp line is 

 drawn between description and valua- 

 tion, a critical estimate of each type is 

 attempted. Herein the author's wide 

 sympathies come into play, with a ca- 



pacity for appreciation extreme almost 

 to a fault. Not by its origin, but by 

 its ' fruits for life,' shall a religion be 

 judged, says Professor James, in ac- 

 cordance with his philosophical prag- 

 matism. And the complexity of life 

 provides for the utility of diverse types. 

 The very ' variety ' is esteemed signifi- 

 cant of possible ranges of unexplored 

 experience. This falls into line with 

 Professor James's individualistic or 

 pluralistic attitude toward the uni- 

 verse, and brings us to the characteris- 

 tic philosophical considerations which 

 are merely hinted at toward the end of 

 the volume, but which it is intended to 

 marshal systematically in a later work. 



Professor James confesses to a lean- 

 ing toward a vague supernaturalism 

 which he himself characterizes as 

 ' crass,' and which is queer to say the 

 least. It may be said to rest upon the 

 conception of a ' subliminal ' region of 

 consciousness, not yet generally admit- 

 ted into scientific psychology, but which 

 is regarded by Professor James as the 

 more significant part of our human 

 nature, whereby we come into deepest 

 relation with the universe. 



No thoughtful reader, least of all a 

 psychologist, can fail to profit by the 

 immense suggestiveness of these lec- 

 tures, which reveal afresh that psycho- 

 logical insight long since recognized as 

 genius, while they are written in that 

 no less brilliant style so familiar to 

 Professor James's readers for a felicity 

 of phrase unequaled in scientific litera- 

 ture. If one misses something of the 

 scientific vigor of the ' Principles of 

 Psychology,' one finds in compensation 

 much of the mellow wisdom which has 

 marked all of Professor James's later 

 writings. 



