William James and the Religious Dimension of Human Life (HyFlex: Zoom)
Winter (9 - 13.5 hours) | Registration opens 11/24/2025 12:00 AM EST
This is the Zoom registration option for this course!
This discussion-based class will read William James’ The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) in order to explore religion as a crucial dimension of human nature. James himself stated that his goal for this study was to “defend experience against philosophy as being the real backbone of the world’s religious life” in order to support his belief that the religious dimension of human life as a whole is “mankind’s most important function.”
This text explores personal testimonies by such figures as Augustine, Terese of Avila, John Bunyan, Leo Tolstoy, and many others in order to consider such themes as the reality of the unseen, conversion, saintliness and mysticism. Our discussion will seek not only to understand James’ perspective but to evaluate for ourselves his perspective that religion—however we understand it—is a critical aspect of human nature and our communal life.
This course will consist of discussions between the Study Leader and particiants.
Sally Matless
Sally studied Religion and Literature at Reed College and then received a Masters of Theological Studies and a Doctor of Theology at Harvard Divinity School. Her focus was a philosophical approach to theological questions focused primarily on metaphysics and ethics. After leaving academia, she started her own small business as a landscape gardener working with her clients to design and install perennial gardens.