Critically assess with reference to William James, the argument from religious experience. The argument from religious experience seems to state that we can experience God and therefore God must exist, for surely what we experience must be real. William James, American psychologist and philosopher, worked to expand on and validate this topic. James defined religious experience as ‘The feelings, acts and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatsoever they may consider divine.’ He then identified the four types of mystical experiences: ineffable, noetic, transient, passive. An ineffable experience is one that cannot easily be articulated.
Is Religion and Theology Scientific? Religion and Theology are two terms that are often confused when it comes to their study. Religion is based on faiths and beliefs when it comes to the acceptance of superhuman powers in the form of God or gods. On the other hand theology is the study of God thought. This is especially true of Christianity.
“Visions and voices are not caused by God but can be explained through science” Discuss. (35) A vision can be termed as an experience of seeing something or someone in a trance like state or as a supernatural apparition. When complimented by voices from religious figures it can be said to evoke an even deeper religious experience for believers. However, there exists much debate on what the catalyst is for these experiences; some would argue for God attempting to communicate through his creation, whereas others believe the answer lies in science. A vision and auditory related religious experience can occur in a person consciously or unconsciously.
The argument from religious experience states that if we can experience God, then surely God must exist because what we experience must be real. There are many philosophers that try to explain this but the one I am going to focus on in this essay is William James. James defines religious experience as though it should be the primary topic in the study if religion rather than religious institutions, since institutions are merely the social descendent of genius. He also defines a religious experience as, 'The feelings, acts and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatsoever they may consider divine.’ To James a prominent feature of religious experience is mysticism. He says, '...propose to you four marks which, when an experience has them, may justify us in calling it mystical...' The marks to which he is referring to are inefficiently, notices quality, transiency and passivity.
8. Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of using faith as a basis for knowledge in religion and in one area of knowledge from the TOK diagram. ------------------------------------------------- Knowledge Issue: To what extent is faith a justifiable basis for knowledge, in religion and another Area of Knowledge – natural science. Knowledge is often described as justified true belief. This indicates that a belief can be called knowledge if it has undergone sufficient justification.
Calvin’s idea of predestination suggests that some people are God’s ‘elect’ and that, after death, these ‘elect’ will join God in heaven. Believers in predestination claim that our actions, whether ‘elect’ or ‘damned’, are predestined or decided by God; meaning that we have very little, if any at all, free will in our decision making or actions. This theory of predestination often leads people to believe in a God ‘who favours some but not all of his creation’, which would be intrinsically linked to miracles in the sense that, regardless of what we do, God has already decided whether he will interact with the world or perform a miracle. Miracles, in this sense, are seen not as unsystematic breaches of natural law but rather as the eternal intention of God for the world. For this reason, people who agree with Calvin in believing in predestination often find it difficult to understand why miracles aren’t common occurrences.
Daniel Greenblatt PHIL 1600 Evaluation of The Argument From Religious Experience By first analyzing C.B Broad’s “Argument from Religious Experience, then anaylzing how he explains the arguement, this essay will conclude that religious experiences are indeed not veridical. First and foremost it is important to note that Broad does not say that claims pertaining to the natural world from religious experience should be taken as veridical. While he does not explicitly say so, he does not consider the argument from religious experience as a confirmation of God’s existence. Broad concentrates on the credibility of the experience and any claims related to it. He states that it is logical to agree that when there is a core agreement in the religious experiences of people in different places, times, and ways of life, and when they have the same rational explanations of the experiences, it makes sense to conclude that they are all in contact with some objective aspect of reality, unless there is evidence to believe otherwise.
This undoubtly is the quitessential what the Natural Sciences is based upon. The knowledge is passed down not through belief in something because we have an emotional connection, but more as sense perception. Because of this debate, the claim is born that faith can sometimes be a poor basis of knowledge therefore alot gaps in that area is unreliable due to the connection. However if this is true, why do human beings have to rely on imperical evidence and proof in order to believe something is real? In the Natural Sciences, a strong and accepted theory must contain solid evidence and background information to support the theory, meaning that a strong concept can be falsified.
I believe many of us regard the Spirit as something of an essence or wind-like force that surrounds us and leads us to be like God. The Holy Spirit is not a wind. Like God and Jesus, the Holy Spirit has all the qualities of a person. This is invaluable as we consider our relationship to the Spirit, for if the Spirit is not a personified being – if he is only a surrounding essence – how can we have a true relationship with him. And this true relationship is one of the main advantages of being human – that we are “a little lower than God and crowned with glory and honor.” (Psalm 8:5) This is proven in John 14 because as Jesus, whose relationship with the Spirit is incomparable, talks of the Spirit, he uses the pronouns he and him – not it.
Religion and spirituality have been described as separate and distinct expressions (Wittink, Joo, Lewis, and Barg, 2009). Garfield, Isacco and Sahker (2013) define spirituality as “a subjective, mystical, and holistic interpretation of personal beliefs, and behaviors” (p.27). Boyd-Franklin (2010) stated, “Religion refers to a core set of beliefs and the formal practice of those beliefs through membership in a church or other faith-based institution. Spirituality, on the other hand, refers to belief in God, the Creator, or a High Power and the power of spiritual beliefs in one’s life” (p. 978). From these definitions, it can safely be said that a person can be spiritual and not be