William James’in Gifford Konferansları ve The Varieties of Religious Experience İsimli Eserinin Yankıları Üzerine Bir Analiz
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Tarih
2013
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info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Özet
James, Gifford Konferanslarına ilk resmi daveti 1898 yılında almıştır. Aslında betimsel ve metafizik olmak üzere iki seri olarak planlanan konferanslar, betimsel bölümün beklenmedik şekilde uzaması sebebiyle tek bölüm olarak sunulabilmiş ve metafizik bölüm bir başka vesileyle ele alınmak üzere ertelenmek durumunda kalmıştır. Konferansların ilk serisi ise 16 Mayıs 1901de Edinburghda başlamıştır. 1902 yılında basıma hazır hale getirilen bu konferanslar The Varieties of Religious Experience, a Study on Human Nature (Dini Tecrübenin Çeşitleri, İnsan Doğası Üzerine Bir Çalışma) adıyla kitap olarak yayınlanmıştır. Bu kitap da en az konferanslar kadar ciddi bir başarı elde etmiştir. James, dini tecrübeleri bu tecrübeler katı psikiyatrik ölçütlere göre patolojik olarak değerlendirilse de olağanüstü karakteri sebebiyle bir anlamda ilham edilmiş olarak görerek sadece tasvir etmekle kalmayıp aynı zamanda haklılaştırmaktadır. O, inanan insanın bilincinin sıcaklığını tıpkı hissedildiği gibi taşımaya çalışmış, bireyin dini değerleri yüceltmesiyle ilgilenmiştir. Ona göre bu duyguların ifade edilebilmesi için bu duygulara sempatik bir yaklaşım gösterilmelidir. Dolayısıyla kitabın özellikle son kısmında, dini tecrübe iddialarının James tarafından savunulduğu görülmektedir. Jamesin şahsında felsefe, dinî tecrübenin hakikatini teyit etmiştir. Geçen bir yüzyıl sonrasında geri dönüp baktığımızda, Jamesin dini tecrübe, inanç ve kişilik arasındaki ilişkiye dair anlayışının müteakip çalışmalar tarafından desteklendiğini görmek oldukça ilgi çekicidir.
James appointment to a Gifford Lectureship was formally made in 1898. It was originally intended that the first series should be "descriptive" and the second "metaphysical," but the descriptive task expanded so greatly that the metaphysical task had to be postponed to another occasion. The first series of Lectures began at Edinburgh, on May 16, 1901. The lectures had been prepared for the press and appeared in June 1902 under the title, The Varieties of Religious Experience, a Study in Human Nature. The book, like the lectures, was signally successful. The reader receives the impression that James regarded religious experiences, even though they be judged pathological by strict psychiatric standards, as in some sense and in some degree inspired. Their "exceptional" character commended them to him. Unquestionably James was justifying, and not merely describing, the religious experience. He stationed himself at the centre of the believer's consciousness and tried to convey its warmth and appeal as they were originally felt. He was concerned with religious values, with the hope or exaltation of concrete individuals, which must be rendered sympathetically if they are to be conveyed at all. And then, especially in the latter part of the book, the author defended the claims of religious experience. Philosophy, in the person of William James, confirmed its truth. A century later, it is interesting to look back and consider the extent to which James understanding of the relationship between religious experience, belief and personality has been upheld by subsequent researchs.
James appointment to a Gifford Lectureship was formally made in 1898. It was originally intended that the first series should be "descriptive" and the second "metaphysical," but the descriptive task expanded so greatly that the metaphysical task had to be postponed to another occasion. The first series of Lectures began at Edinburgh, on May 16, 1901. The lectures had been prepared for the press and appeared in June 1902 under the title, The Varieties of Religious Experience, a Study in Human Nature. The book, like the lectures, was signally successful. The reader receives the impression that James regarded religious experiences, even though they be judged pathological by strict psychiatric standards, as in some sense and in some degree inspired. Their "exceptional" character commended them to him. Unquestionably James was justifying, and not merely describing, the religious experience. He stationed himself at the centre of the believer's consciousness and tried to convey its warmth and appeal as they were originally felt. He was concerned with religious values, with the hope or exaltation of concrete individuals, which must be rendered sympathetically if they are to be conveyed at all. And then, especially in the latter part of the book, the author defended the claims of religious experience. Philosophy, in the person of William James, confirmed its truth. A century later, it is interesting to look back and consider the extent to which James understanding of the relationship between religious experience, belief and personality has been upheld by subsequent researchs.
Açıklama
Anahtar Kelimeler
William James, Dini tecrübe, Pragmatizm, Gifford konferansları, Religious experience, Pragmatism, Gifford lectures
Kaynak
Marife Dini Araştırmalar Dergisi
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Cilt
13
Sayı
1
Künye
Erdem, Ö. F. (2013). William James'in Gifford konferansları ve The Varieties of Religious Experience isimli eserinin yankıları üzerine bir analiz. Marife Dini Araştırmalar Dergisi, 13, 1, 127-138.
