A Jamesian Response to Reductionism in the Neuropsychology of Religious Experience
The neuroscience revolution has revived interpretations of religious experiences as wholly dependent on biological conditions. William James cautioned against allowing such neurological reductionism to overwhelm other useful perspectives. Contemporary psychologists of religion have raised similar ca...
| Published in: | Archive for the psychology of religion |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
[2018]
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| In: |
Archive for the psychology of religion
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
James, William 1842-1910
/ Neuropsychology
/ Religious experience
/ Reductionism
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| RelBib Classification: | AE Psychology of religion |
| Further subjects: | B
Neuroscience
B Pluralism B radical empiricism B Pragmatism B William James B psychology of religion B Reductionism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The neuroscience revolution has revived interpretations of religious experiences as wholly dependent on biological conditions. William James cautioned against allowing such neurological reductionism to overwhelm other useful perspectives. Contemporary psychologists of religion have raised similar cautions, but have failed to engage James as a full conversation partner. In this article, we present a contemporary, applied version of James's perspective. We clarify the problem by reviewing specific James-like contemporary concerns about reductionism in the neuropsychological study of religion. Then, most centrally, we employ three of James's conceptual tools—pragmatism, pluralism, and radical empiricism—to moderate contemporary reductionism. Finally, we point to a constructive approach through which neuroscientists might collaborate with scholars in the humanities and psychosocial sciences, which is consistent with our conclusion that it is often no longer fruitful to separate neurobiological studies from studies that are psychosocial or sociocultural. |
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| ISSN: | 1573-6121 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Archive for the psychology of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15736121-12341357 |