The Argument for God from Experience: William James and Mystical Experience

"Our normal waking consciousness, rational consciousness as we call it, is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted by the flimsiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different." (1)

The Experiential Argument for God's Existence

As a brief review, here is my argument to date:

Premise 1: Human beings have experiences that evoke a profound sense of dependence, awe, and transcendence (what Schleiermacher calls the feeling of absolute dependence).

Premise 2: These experiences are epistemically significant. Importantly, they constitute non-propositional knowledge.

Premise 3: The depth and universality of these feelings point toward a reality that is non-contingent.

Conclusion: Therefore, the experiences of dependence, awe, and transcendence are not merely psychological but ontological. They invite interpretation of the self as in-relation-to an Ultimate (what theology names God).

To date, I have been focusing on Premises 1 and 2. In my previous two blog entries, I explored William Alston's epistemology of religious experience. Today, I would like to turn to Premise 3 and William James.

Having previously written on the commonality of religious experience, this post will focus on my justification for utilizing the word 'depth.'

Who is William James?

William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher whose 1902 work The Varieties of Religious Experience helped establish the psychological study of religion.

James emphasized the personal, transformative nature of religious experience - arguing that its value lies in its impact on a person's life, not in doctrinal truth claims.

James' pragmatic approach (like Schleiermacher) helped to reframe religion as rooted in lived experience, making him foundational for modern discussions of mysticism, spiritual consciousness, and more.

William James and Mystical Experience

So far in my argument, I have used the general categories of dependence, awe, and transcendence to denote the experiences which point to God. I have been careful to mention these experiences are sometimes conscious but are also often subconscious (occurring in what Schleiermacher calls the immediate self-consciousness).

Occasionally, however, these experiences take a particularly potent form...the subject is aware, and the moments are memorable. James refers to these as mystical experiences.

The Four Marks of Mystical Experience

In his Gifford lectures, James proposes four characteristics that may justify calling an experience mystical:

1. Ineffability - People who have mystical experiences often say these times defy expression. They can never be fully imparted or transferred to others through words. (See my post on Polanyi and tactic knowledge for more on the limitations of language.)

2. Noetic Quality - Mystical states, in James' view, tend to be states of knowledge. (Again, think back to Polanyi.) These times are insights into the depths of the unexplored intellect. They are illuminating, significant, and often revelatory. Importantly, for James, they "carry with them a curious sense of authority." (2)

   
   

3. Transiency - Mystical experiences tend to be short in duration, often lasting only moments or minutes.

   
   

4. Passivity - Although the onset of a mystical experience may be facilitated by certain actions (prayer, meditation, exploring nature), once begun, volition becomes more like submission. Phrases like "held [or guided] by a greater power" and "trance-like" may be used to describe them.

   
   

In general, these experiences are never strictly interruptive. They are memorable and seem profoundly important to the subject. Often the inner life of the subject is changed.

Case Examples of Mystical Experience

James' lectures are replete with examples of mystical experiences. I will cite two for the sake of brevity.

"An officer on our police force has told me many times when off duty, and on his way home in the evening, there comes to him such a vivid and vital realization of his oneness with this Infinite Power, and this Spirit of Infinite Peace so takes hold of and fills him, that it seems as if his feet could hardly keep to the pavement, so buoyant and so exhilarated does he become by reason of this inflowing tide." (3)

The above is a second-hand account from a work colleague. Below is a first-hand example:

"One brilliant Sunday morning, my wife and boys went to the Unitarian Chapel in Macclesfield. I felt it impossible to accompany them - as though to leave the sunshine on the hills, and go down there to the chapel, would be for the time and act of spiritual suicide...very reluctantly and sadly, I left my wife and boys to go down to the town, while I went further up the hills with my stick and my dog...I soon lost my sense and sadness and regret...On the way back, suddenly, without warning, I felt that I was in Heaven - an inward state of peace and joy and assurance indescribably intense, accompanied with a sense of being bathed in a warm glow of light...a feeling of having passed beyond the body...This deep emotion lasted, though with decreasing strength, until I reached home and for some time after." (4)

The subject goes on to say, "The spiritual life justifies itself to those who live it; but what can we say to those who don't understand? This, at least, we can say, that this is a life who experiences are proved real to their possessor, because they remain with him when brought closest into contact with the objective realities of life."

Countless more examples of these experiences can be shared. For those interested, I encourage you to pick up a copy of James' work. It is a fascinating read.

Bringing it Together

I have demonstrated in previous posts both the existence and the epistemic significance of the feelings of dependence, awe, and transcendence which many humans experience. Today, I have used James' research to show these occurrences can be deep and meaningful to the person who encounters them.

However, in Premise 3 of my argument, I not only claim these experiences to be deep, but I also state they point to a non-contingent reality.

In my next post, I will continue to utilize the work of William James to explore this concept. Specifically, I will seek to answer the question, "Can the feelings of dependence, awe, and transcendence be taken to be authoritative?"

(1) William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience. (New York: The Modern Library, 1902), 124.

(2) Ibid, 122.

(3) Ibid, 126.

(4) Ibid, 127.