Religous Experience Flashcards
William James
-Philosopher psychologist
-4 criteria : infellable beyond language
- Noetic: knowledge gained
- Transient = temporary
- Passive = happens to person person doesn’t make it happen
- “ taht no adequate report of its contents can be given in words”
- must be directly experienced to be understood
- someone who has never heard music may have misunderstood those who have, regarding them as weak minded
- those who dissmiss experinace may lack first hand exerpinace to appreciate its significance
- believed that the 4 criteria are in all cultures
- all humans have similarly evolved without expalnyion of a higher spiritual reality
- said not hallucinations as they have positive profound effects which can be observed e.g alchololic who was. Unable to give up alcohol gave up gained power which he lacked before
- is evidence of a higher spiritual reality
- believed conversion is form happy to happy self
- however hallucinations can also be life changeing if it happens to fit certain beliefs e.g if atheist has hallucination walking down. Road would change life but if hallucinated an angel might not
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Mystical experiences
- ecstatic and immersive
Examples of mystical experiences
St Trae’s a - felt an angel pierce heart and fainted = symbol of divine ones
Moses and bush = walking one day saw bush burning went over to see god called him told to take of showes said this is holy land showed him a plight of Israelites told to go have save them in Egypt
Joan arch = french peasant girl claimed to have seen visions from saint instructing to support James in war led army god a medel
St Bernadette = said. To have seen Mary blue sash yellow rose each foot see vision told her to drink from spring beneath her feet even though muddy next day
Nicky Cruz = gang member became Christian after encounter with David wikweosn a pare her encounter with god felt love and forgiveness
Conversion experinaces
- influence person to change religion
- can be individual / corporate
- St Paul = Jew who persecuted Christian’s had an encounter with Jesus converted to Christian
- frued psychological critique say can be due to personal wishing childhood traumas guilt
- but frued says can be just explained as wishful thinking or faer of death because those who haven’t already believed in a higher power/ afterlife so wishful thinkers already satisfied form current religion
Corporate experinaces
- many people have some RE together
- “ all of them were fulfilled with the Holy Spirit began to speak in other tongues “ act 2:3
- this has inspired the Christian denomination pentecostolism focus on intense shared worship in tongues
- Toronto blessing felt unusual emotions crying laughing hysterically associated this with presence of Holy Spirit
- strength of this is that this can’t be explained by physiological psychological causes that could only apply to individuals e.g mental illness alcohol fasting
- however = mass hysteria e.g in old age whole village convinced saw a witch same with aliens .
Individual exrinaces
St Bernadette’s
Prohphert Muhammad pbuh
- swinsburns testimony = says unless have a good reason to doubt we should believe . However but cooperate has more witness so more ocnvinsung but could cause mass hysteria
- empirical evidence in losing lasting change in St Paul Nicky James notices his as a common factor
But in Pentecost observable empirical evidence women heard a voice speaking in different languages hard amsseage and acted on it ver since …
Persingers physiological
- gives a scientific challenge
Neuroscientist + god helmet physically manipulated people Brian waves caused tehm to have a religious experinaces showes that they come from brain nothing superificial - however brain manipulated simply mechanisms which god crated RE
- but perisnger at least demonstrated RE could have a naturalistic explanation so supernatural explanations are unnessary gods helmet can’t rule of the possibility of supernatural causes from RE out showes can have have naturalistic cause is is simpilar opinion Oakham razor
- strengths = similar experiences can be produces by electromagnetic on Brain temporal lobes sensitivity so can’t have a supernatural cause but if god was to interact with humans he would use physical and neurological process so we can track it
- St Paul could have been suffering from applying but is reductionist reduces all humans to material can’t fully explain other RE
- other can be linked to vision voices fasting Russell quote “ there is no difference between someone who eats to little and sees heaven and someone who eats too much sees snake “ but it is too difficult to explain long lasting changes simpily the result of neurological activity
Frued psychological
- scientific challenge
- called religion obsersevatinal neurosis I derived form 2 main physiological forces
- 1st fear of death we can’t control huamn only animal constantly in fear of death so solution is too manipulate those to believe earth is not the end
- he said that Christian saw god as a father as wanted to be a child forever
Thought these psyological forces were so strong that they resulted in allusions which could explain religious experience - person list in desert can be so desperate for water they hallucinate similarly humans can be so desperately afraid of death and difficulties of life that they can delude themselves that there is as god who will take acre of. Them in afterlife
- id = I want it now
- superego = nice people don’t do that
Ego = maybe I can find a compromise - weakness = theory doesn’t quite capture mystical RE involve feeling connected with something boundless goes beyond wishful actions of someone with psychological issues .
- however said intense mystical experinaces are replay of childhood moments be for the formation of ego self. According to frued examples why individuals feel a connection to everything.
Swiping burns principle of credulity and testimony
- takes a evidence-based approach
- believes that religious experiences can be valid evidence for the existence of God, as long as they can withstand standard empirical scrutiny.
- any experience could serve as evidence for God, provided there’s no compelling reason to doubt it.
-argument begins with a straightforward definition of evidence: if we experience something, or if someone tells us about their experience, this is evidence that the experience is likely true. - It is a principle of rationality that (in the absence of special considerations) if it seems (epistemically) to a subject that χ is present, then probably χ is present; what one seems to perceive is probably so.”
- When this principle is applied to religious experiences, it suggests that if someone believes they have experienced God, or if we hear about such an experience from someone else, this is evidence for God’s existence. While this doesn’t prove God’s existence outright, it does provide a rational base for belief.
- acknowledges that evidence from religious experiences must be critically evaluated, just like any other type of evidence. If there is stronger, more established evidence that contradicts a religious experience, we are justified in dismissing it. Without such contradictory evidence, dismissing a religious experience is irrational.
- Swinburne develops two key principles:
The principle of credulity: We should generally believe what we experience unless there is a reason not to.
The principle of testimony:We should generally believe what others report experiencing unless there is a reason not to. - but based on this many religious experiences might be discounted if there is evidence that they stem from unreliable sources, psychological conditions, or other natural causes. E.g if someone is known to be liar or if their experience can be attributed to fasting, drug use, or mental illness, we have reaosn to reject their experience as evidence for God.
-Swinburne concludes that religious experiences which cannot be disproven by other evidence should be considered valid evidence for God’s existence. Ignoring such experiences without reason, he argues, is irrational.
-However, there’s a counterpoint to consider: the notion that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Some might argue that the existence of God is such an extraordinary claim that mere personal experience is insufficient to justify belief.
