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Category: Epistemology

William James: The Varieties of Religious Experience

William James: The Varieties of Religious Experience

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I have been reading William James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902). The book is interesting and thought-provoking, and covers a number of interesting subjects related to religion. In this passage (pp. 15-16), James discusses truth and feelings: Let us play fair in this whole matter, and be quite candid with ourselves and with the facts. When we think certain states of mind superior to others, is it ever because of what we know concerning their organic antecedents? No! it…

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Replacing religion with UFOs?

Replacing religion with UFOs?

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Note: This is a re-post of a post originally from July 25, 2017. I am reposting because it is more relevant than ever. I will be posting more on this subject. In my first post on this blog I said that Religion is an inescapable part of human nature—it has been a part of all human cultures everywhere and at all times. Religion serves important functions by providing, among other things: 1) a way to make parts of our lives…

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Re-Religionization: Secularization Can’t Stop Human Nature

Re-Religionization: Secularization Can’t Stop Human Nature

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Note: This is a re-post of a post originally from June 20, 2016. I am reposting because it is more relevant than ever. I will be posting more on this subject. Summary: Religiosity is an inescapable part of human nature. Secularization won’t—can’t—overcome it. Instead, the growing trend of secularization has just led those professing no religion to express their innate religious natures in sub-optimal, ill-thought-out, ad hoc ways. My book, The Triple Path, offers a better alternative that integrates our…

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The Empty Tomb

The Empty Tomb

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A young man decided to seek out a tomb that legend said contained the secret to the meaning of life. After a long search, he found it in the Holy Land, hidden underground among some old Roman ruins. He looked in, but it was empty. He did not know why, but he felt a powerful sense of fear and dread as he entered. Even so, he continued in and explored every nook and cranny. He saw no books or scrolls…

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The Emperor’s New Clothes

The Emperor’s New Clothes

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One day, two swindlers came to a vain emperor presenting themselves as weavers and tailors of fine clothing. For a large sum, they offered to make the finest clothes ever known—a magic suit that could not be seen or felt by anyone lacking in wisdom or virtue. They were very persuasive. The emperor and his ministers became convinced of the swindlers’ claims, and the emperor hired the swindlers to make the new clothes for him. To tailor the suit, the…

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The Cure for the Blind

The Cure for the Blind

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A wise teacher came among a community of the blind to teach them how to cure their blindness. His cure was not perfect, but when applied fully, it restored much of their sight. The teacher was with them only a short time. When he left, only a few had learned incomplete forms of the cure and had only partially restored their own sight. As news about the teacher’s cure spread, his few followers began to teach the different forms of…

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The Cure for the Blind

The Cure for the Blind

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A wise teacher came among a community of the blind to teach them how to cure their blindness. His cure was not perfect, but when applied fully, it restored much of their sight. The teacher was with them only a short time. When he left, only a few had learned incomplete forms of the cure and had only partially restored their own sight. As news about the teacher’s cure spread, his few followers began to teach the different forms of…

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The Cure for the Blind

The Cure for the Blind

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A wise teacher came among a community of the blind to teach them how to cure their blindness. His cure was not perfect, but when applied fully, it restored much of their sight. The teacher was with them only a short time. When he left, only a few had learned incomplete forms of the cure and had only partially restored their own sight. As news about the teacher’s cure spread, his few followers began to teach the different forms of…

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The Travelers and the Dry Well

The Travelers and the Dry Well

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Long ago, there was a man in a far-off land traveling on foot down an empty road through arid, desolate country. He came upon another man traveling the same road. They walked together a while. Feeling thirsty and nearing one of the infrequent wells along the route, they stopped to refill their waterskins and to refresh themselves. When they dipped the bucket into the well, though, it came up dry. They tried again, and again it came up dry. The…

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The Pelican and the Fisherman

The Pelican and the Fisherman

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A poor fisherman went out in his boat to catch what he could to support his family. A lazy pelican who hated the effort of searching for and catching fish flew over the poor fisherman’s boat and saw the small pile of the fisherman’s catch for the day. As the fisherman started to guide his boat back to shore, the pelican dived down and stole a fish out of the pile. The fisherman shooed the pelican away. The pelican flew…

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