William James on Religion

This is a collection of articles on William James's (1842-1910) philosophy of religion and its current relevance authored by a team of international experts. Famous for his work in psychology, James was the founder of the philosophical movement known as pragmatism as well as an early classic in religious studies. A new look at his philosophy of religion is crucially important for the development of this field of inquiry today. The book offers novel investigations of James's philosophy of religion and its contemporary importance as well as his controversial 'will to believe' argument in particular. Thus, for instance, both the account of religious experience in James's Varieties and the debate on the ethics of belief are illuminated.

Henrik Rydenfelt is a Researcher in Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Helsinki, Finland. His recent publications are concentrated on a pragmatist approach to normativity, addressing key questions in several fields of philosophy, such as epistemology, meta-ethics, ethical theory and social philosophy. Rydenfelt is the coordinator of the Nordic Pragmatism Network, assistant review editor of the Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, associate editor of Pragmatism Today, editor of Nordic Studies in Pragmatism, and a member of the editorial board of the European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy.

Sami Pihlstrom is Professor of Practical Philosophy at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and the Director of the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies at the University of Helsinki. He has published widely on pragmatism, the problem of realism, transcendental philosophy, and the philosophy of religion.