Description
Book SynopsisWilliam James is frequently considered one of America's most important philosophers, as well as a foundational thinker for the study of religion. In this new interpretation David Lamberth argues that James's major contribution was to develop a systematic metaphysics of experience integrally related to his pluralistic and social religious ideas.
Trade Review"Lamberth's book is an extraordinarily precise analysis of James's transition from an empirical psychologist to a metaphysician, and he offers detailed interpretations of James's religious views within the context of James's attempt to overcome the perennial bugbear of philosophy: mind-body dualism." Neal Leavitt, The Boston Book Review
"This volume is a welcome addition to the body of Jamesian scholarship. In this clearly written, well-researched, and convincing book, Lamberth has unveiled a philosopher worthy of careful attention." Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society
"This study is beautifully Jamesian in character." Review of Metaphysics
"...Lamberth's interpretation of "pure experience" sharpens the sense of James's defense of religion...It is an excellent path through James's later thought." The Boston Book Review
"This is a very bold and exciting book..." Philosophy and Phenomenological
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments; Note on the text; Introduction; 1. James's radically empiricist Weltanschauung; 2. From psychology to religion: pure experience and radical empiricism in the 1890s; 3. The Varieties of Religious Experience: Indications of a philosophy adapted to normal religious needs; 4. Squaring logic and life: making philosophy intimate in A Pluralistic Universe; 5. Estimations and anticipations; Select bibliography; Index.
