William James and the Sick Soul
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 เม.ย. 2013
- In this lecture we examine some of William James's ideas from his famous work "Varieties of Religious Experience". We look at his conception of religion and his interesting contrast between the healthy-minded and the sick soul.
===================================================
Support us on Patreon: / academyofideas
Recommended Readings:
The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James - amzn.to/1U9bCcJ (affiliate link)
William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism by Robert Richardson - amzn.to/1OP6TLC (affiliate link)
Visit www.academyofideas.com for more videos, video transcripts and more!
===================================================
His quote brought me here "The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human can alter his life by altering his attitude.”
Raju Gogulam, Where is the evidence to support this?
@@stevekennedy5380 in your self- when you dare to search...
@@stephen_pfrimmer in my experience it is making an effort aginst our Unlust, Dislike, Discomfort, the Impulse for Reward and avoiding pain. To accpet the pain and keep going, no matter how painful. We now prefer the painkiller even for an imagined pain, that escalates into a hell of imagined pain...
What about when people are fighting injustice? Is it better to convince oneself that injustice isn't real in order to gain a positive but warped view of the world? What's missing here is the antithesis of "morbid mindedness", when the mind is so desperate to deny harsh and ugly truths that it excuses and rationalizes those forces which create, enable, and facilitate them. In short, choosing to be a polyanna because it feels good, is just as unhealthy and destructive as fixating on problems to the point of defeatism.
@@MetalNick Well said.
Man, can’t thank you enough for your contributions here and w your channel as a whole.
I read James book, Variety of religious experiences, so great study about miracles that heal and transform people including not believers. I was atheist born catholic, had deppression and suicidal thoughts, I asked God for help and had a spiritual transforming experience that in a minute changed my life completely. I got ful of force, wisdom, joy, peace. I don't belong to any church or religion. But there's something like a love force that provides, heals and transforms people that were suffering a lot. It's like winning the lottery without buying a ticket. That the Force be with you.
I’m glad you found peace in life. Much love. ❤️
Glad you found a source of peace as well. Just curious. How did you go from being “an atheist” to asking god for help? I was under the impression people don’t address entities they don’t believe exist.
i have to say this channel has awakened the spirit of greatness lying dormant within me which had been stifled with doubt and fear
You're seeing a world in a different light now =)
I'm going through the toughest time now with being jobless 15 out of 20 months in a foreign country, lost money in investments, depleting savings and many other frustrations. But I've come to accept all these as life's way of changing our mindset and to erase our egos.
My attitude has changed and I've cut out many bad habits, cultivated new habits and I will work my way through brick by brick, one step at a time and maybe, just maybe, I might see some light in my future.
Good vibrations and blessings =)
@@luckyleo88 i agree change is hard but its necessary
@@luckyleo88 I've been there. I think you may be doing the thing in investing in your mind. Things change and may get better, way better. Mostly because you learn to know the lows.
Best of luck brother.
Sounds like a cliche
@@thariqafendi506 something being cliché doesn't matter if people can relate to it.
I think existentialists would say you don't need to trick yourself into believing what you think is negative is actually positive, but doing what aligns with your values to overcome the negative is what will really bring peace of mind. That makes more sense to me than trying to concoct a world view, which, as James acknowledges, isn't compatible with one's experience. Positive mindedness has some good applications, but it's turned into a religion and a self-help guru cult where the concept of the individual is portrayed as wholly and solely constructed by the individual. But individuals don't exist in a vacuum. We are affected by things that happen to us and our fellow human beings, and ecology, and other life forms. And we shouldn't see, for example, being distressed by our fellow humans suffering needlessly, as a sign that we're weak, or that it's simply a matter of pessimism. Those who see injustice and are distressed by it are also optimistic that a positive change can be made. Should we have promoted positive mindedness to slaves (and their allies in emancipation) who were suffering under slavery and desperately wanted their freedom from brutal subjugation? Were the slave rebels and allies of escaped slaves just being too "morbid"? Of course not.
Just want to conclude with this. The idea that anyone solely fits into either "morbid mindedness" (Jesus what a morbid term) or positive mindedness is ridiculous. Individuals experience a spectrum of emotions and perspectives, and your outlook at the beginning of the day may totally contrast with your outlook at the end of the day. I don't see any evidence to suggest those who promote positive thinking actually live up to the rhetoric, or that there really is such a division among people between morbid and healthy mentality. How could it ever be proven since we can't perfectly empathize; we can't get in each others' heads, as much as we think we can, and as much as we are capable of compassion and empathy. Abstract philosophy disintegrates when comprehensively applied (probably even including that statement) which is why specifics are crucial. A critically thinking mind it seems will always be able to correct a perspective that's either blindly optimistic or too defeatist.
TL; DR: Categorizing human perspectives in terms of negative or positive is highly speculative, subjective, anecdotal, and simplistic. And it becomes judgmental. How positive minded can one be if they see negative expressions as solely products of a morbid mind? ..sounds like a kind of morbid perspective..
Thanks man. Once more. I needed this. For some of us it’s impossible to just take life lightly all the time. I’m stoic in reason but deep down I know my truth is much more of a tragic view.
. . .and just being BORN i s t r a g i c !
Based on current understanding of psychology, no amount of positive thinking will alleviate clinical depression. A positive outlook is desirable, but no one is fully exempted from attacks of melancholy, sometimes for long periods of time. I think this was what James wanted to convey and he was ahead of his time.
Depression should be renamed ,compression.
Thats so right, what he said toward the end about the level of ones despair and the appreciation you can achieve, i mean how could you appreciate the good times when you dont have the hard times to contrast with?, i have depression now but i am positive it will clear away some day which is just being realistic because i myself have had really great times and some really low points , its all that yin yang thing. We must stop searching for happiness we already know what makes us happy we just locate it and do it more often.
You mean drugs?
Hope you have overcome your depression bro. A terrible painful disease but one that can be overcome through effort.
And this is exactly why I love supporting Mayo. No county would ever celebrate an All-Ireland like we would. Ever. To feel that level of pain would give the sweetest of victories. Some day. 2019
What a great intellectual person. He really explains well what attracts people to religion and overall what people can take from it. A really splendid video
Great presentation of James's view of the sick soul. Beautifully done!
To any pessimist who dislikes the saving grace of optimism:
This video starts with pessimism but ends with an optimistic outlook. You are well-advised to use this strategy: "Life (and this video) is lived forwards, but understood backwards."
This is an important video, I've stumbled onto it multiple times in the passed few years and each time it has acted as a sort of springboard for me. Hope you're keeping well AoI
Dude! You're awesome! Watching all your videos and they're all great. Thanks for all your work and i wish best of luck!
Just found you a few months ago and I’m really enjoying your channel.
Soy una enorme admiradora de William James. Su libro variedad de experiencias religiosas es maravilloso.
thanks for the video! it was really awesome.
Amazing segment and profile 🙌💓🙏
I must say thank you for the time you put into these videos. They really invoke thought and let me gain knowledge with ease. -Back to Pharmacy finals ;)-
The last quote alone is worth all the time spent in the video
Thank you - I will make a contribution as soon as I am able.
HillDueceua - Hardcore, dogmatic atheists - or even harcore, dogmatic believers in a certain narrow and rigid religious or political creed - want everything nailed down and all other options closed: "this and and only this and everything else is stupid, evil, to be exterminated"... For the more imaginative, the more "spiritual", the more artistic, it's an open question, a belief in and search for new and better sensibilities, awarenesses, attitudes... new and improved wavelengths of consciousness...
Hardcore, dogmatic atheists set up a strawman-god to ridicule and burn down... When I ask them to define the "god" they don't believe in, they give me a "god" 99% of believers don't believe in... If they bunker down and refuse to budge, I usually leave them with a "That's the beauty of it... I'm not looking for your approval... I don't expect you to understand... " It's sad... I feel sorry for them... Like someone who is colour-blind or tone-deaf or cannot appreciate the poetry, the LOGOS, of existence...
@@virvisquevir3320 Well Stated
Seeing and hearing of too much reality imbues a human soul with a level pain and suffering not its own. This peeling away of what is unseen which is beyond his 5 sense perception is beyond the souls comprehension and puts it on a path of self enquiry as to what Life is and how to live it properly from personal experience and to liberate the Soul from earthly bondage into the unknown of possibilities which frees the soul from material suffering...
Do you have more to say
Sounds like that could be an interesting read, unfortunately is it over $100 on amazon. I will have to wait until I can get it at the library.
Check google PDF
sheista, this just described something I should understand in a single quote... dang... perhaps this person will be interesting to learn about
The painting @ 8:38 just made me shed tears. Not sure why but can someone tell me where to find it. Or the artist?
AOL you ever heard of Robert Assagioli? His psychosynthesis/act of Will philosophy is on point and I’d love a video about it from you. Timeless videos on your channel, and it’s my favorite I’m subscribed to. Thank you.
James is a deep and honest thinker on the human condition. He should be studied in schools like Plato, Aristotle and Socrates are. His psychologist/philosophical bent are a means to awaken from the illusions and enthrallment of a psychotic world. As Gerald Stern said in his poem about the way in which men think: “I Remember Galileo:”: I remember Galileo describing the mind/As a piece of paper blown around by the/ wind,...but yesterday I saw the mind was a squirrel/ caught crossing/ Route 80 between the wheels of a giant truck...”
Happily, the squirrel made it across the highway, narrowly avoiding being crushed. Read the entire poem and you’ll get his meaning. We’re all like that terrified squirrel at times. Let’s hope that our Creator will intervene in time to prevent the earth’s dissolution.-See Revelation 21:1-4. Its our only hope.
Clyde King amen 🙏🏾
And A-woman! 🤣
Can't wait to cypher through this channel.
Are you ready to be lambasted.?
I was wandering if anyone could tell me what the last painting in this video is called and who it is by? It is exceptionally beautiful!
That painting is called "The Ninth Wave" and it is by Ivan Aivazovsky.
steveredonka a. Turner English painter
@@donmoore9828 its not turner just turneresque light
Wow! Fortunately my wife knows the author and he gave her a copy, which I have borrowed. Hopefully it'll be out in paper soon.
Some are born to endless night .
Some are born to sweet delight . William Blake .
This is very perceptive, for a man of his time, given recent studies in neurology , personality traits ( psychology ) and studies in genetics broadly tend to similar conclusions
Another great video. I have to know what the name and artist of the final painting are! The men clinging to the broken mast in the sunset.
Had to come here to clarify his book. I was stuck on the understanding and didn't know if I was reading it correctly lol
I didnt know James was a sick soul. I also am. I read his book, Viarity of religion experiences, I have had a religion experience that had saved my life eventhough i didnt believe in God anymore, and wanted to know more about those experiences. Eckhart Tolle, famous writter and modern spiritual leader, had one of those experiences, and now he shares sick souls the path to enlightment. He is in youtube.
You’ve legitimately been doing this for 8 years 🏋🏽♂️
Awesome video!
Who painted that last picture in your video? It is so beautiful!
Well now I understand myself better.
1mopho50 The misconception that your statement is based on is actually described in the video, within seconds after the part of the video that you're referring to, in attempt to avoid the presupposition that you have made.
does anyone have a citation for the last quote? Is it from Varieties?
What is the name of this painting, or the artist? 8:01
Interesting. While I agree that the specific work you're covering here does represent James' views on belief and religious experience as it relates to the existential being, I want to go on record and state that I dont think that it relates well to the body of his other writings. In several of his other lectures he does the good work of building up to belief from metaphysical considerations which would help put this particualr work into a better context. James' philosophical view of the whole "monism vs pluralism" debate must be used as a primer in order for his psychological considerations on the matter to be taken seriously. This is why the work done by Husserl was so important because he systematized the whole "bracketing" idea for when we regard abstractions that lie beyond science, which gave us new ways to discuss things that are purely phenomenological without getting mired down in their truths. The Pragmatists weren't all as kind to religion as James was either, but the Pragmatist view leaves much room for man's spitituality, which remains fully evident.
Please do other pragmatic philosophers, too: Peirce and Dewey.
Plz tell me if it was william james or Henry James who coined the phrase "the atmosphere of the mind"
I highly recommend the books "The Book of James" and "Ghost Writers in the Sky" both by Suzy Smith. Afterlife communications with William James.
How is it that he didn't mention Socrates. Socrates taught Plato . It was said that Socrates was the wisest man who ever live.
The quote is about literature, rather than thinkers. Plato wrote it down, Socrates would be lost if not for his writings.
"The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***" book brought me here
how?
Nice lecture. I appreciate the emphasis on James' pluralism. Currently reading Jeremy's Carrette's William James' Hidden Religious Imagination, which just came out, which explores James' pluralism in the context of the theory of relations that he picks up from Charles Renouvier. Anyway, great video!
No Religion just Truth. Mr. Williams James is right you must be Born Twice to Deal and to Overcome this World , it's not easy but it's not impossible . Worldly Religion for example Christianity , if we claimed to be Followers of Christ , we can not live as Unbelievers do but be that good example for our fellow Atheist , and others . # Make a Difference :-)
To what end is the content of this video relevant?
does anyone know the painting at 7:54 please?
+Wits' End upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Joseph_Wright_of_Derby._The_Old_Man_and_Death._exhibited_1774.jpg
cmdfanxp wow 2 years later. i don't even remember making this comment. youtube is awesome - thanks a lot for the link!
You're welcome.
Also, you have superb taste in pre-Socratics~
whoa...
And we please enlighten the positive thinking kults. So many think it is the one all be all and are actually destructive when they dont acknowledge other minds
Leibniz
Anyone willing to read and correct my undergraduate thesis on William James' defence of religious belief? Thank you in advanced!
Upload it and let me know. I'm in.
My poor sick soul. My poor sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick soul.
Sí señor
What James would call a religious experience, I would call a spiritual experience...
with out him the 12 steps would not exist and i would be dead so big thanks to this guy
The painting is must Likely a Turner an English painter.
My religion was the psychedelic experience. That felt like something real even though it pretty much wiped out most of my beliefs on a creator etc. James healthy minded sounds like Norman Vincent Peale. That was not me. I believe that this world is a type of prison and the prison guards are the culture/society.
Pain is an epic!
🤘
Sick soul or realist?
Note to Self: "Nobody knows you like I do"
said the crown.
Tears of a clown
Purpose of view; what harmony lies in view attains the freedom to which cause has a view of contentment; the power of struggle is just that, but what it attains is harmony of a purpose of view! What is viewed does not matter; attainment is relative to this view!
Your comments are superficial. Goethe was neo-pagan--neither Christian nor Jewish, and the book is about religion. Although WJ does mention Goethe, a better example of the morbidly minded soul is Luther. In the 9th and 10th chapters on sudden, involuntary conversions, the morbidly minded religious person believes in "Sin". The healthy-minded tend to believe in "sins". The former tend to be Protestants, and the ones who believe in "sins" as opposed to "Sin", tend to be Roman Catholics. I am over-simplifying, but this is basically what WJ was talking about. It is interesting to ask what were WJ's religious beliefs. On a few pages of VORE, WJ says:"...we Protestants believe...." or "...we Protestants think that..." but I don't think WJ was a Protestant because the born-again experience seems to be strange and unusual. Apparently, he was a cultural Protestant. I love watching and listening to Bishop Fulton Sheen's videos on TH-cam, but recently I have noticed he never talks about being born-again.
Bishop Fulton Sheen seems very interesting, thanks for sharing
As there are good elements in life, so are evil forces. It's an undeniable fact of life.
2:00 What William James is describing is spirituality, not religion. Religion is a system of control. The purpose of religion is to control the behavior of those who follow that religion. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam use God as their authority figure in this control system. Buddhism uses the Buddha as its authority. All religions come in the form of "if you behave the way our authority tells us you must behave, you will receive a reward," usually after you die in this life, and if you fail to behave properly, you will receive a "punishment" when you die. Henry James was the smarter brother.
He forgot all the stoics..
That’s the weirdest pronunciation of Goethe I’ve ever heard
I'm proud to be twice born ü
I think the author of this video, is not recognizing his contributions to pragmatism. The ideas this individual is exposing from james invalidates his own personal physical ailments. How he was discredited and his philosophy and psychology became the basis for CBT.
Lots of people seem happy with this so ignore my comment.
Von Goethe is referring to the myth of Sisyphus in that quote, except it doesn't sound like he imagined Sisyphus happy lol.
"Change your attitude"(Without explaining how).
Wow! A 7 year old child could have given this advice. Deeply profound, indeed.
Do you have anything productive to contribute or do you just want to spread misery?
Relative is not supported, only a gravity that finds orbit!
I think what the ancients meant by religion was something profoundly different than the infantilism and herd mentality of what's been called religion since this God figure became a theological superstitious deity. All the ancients different perceptions, writings and experiences were gathered up by some rascals over time and became the basis of those abominations we call organized religion. These horrific tyrannies called faiths and the disasters they've caused in the psyche of man and in the world were I believe structured by these rascals for power and control purposes and designed to appeal to what I feel is an idiot gene in man, lower thinking animal consciousness that can only connect in the most tenuous way with the sacred via superstition which leads to a form of insanity, degeneracy of mind, conformity and deep fear and the desire to be controlled by external authorities and abdicate responsibility for the individual mind and experience.
Religion.inc
why do we listen to these guys when they are suffering all the time? haha. Jordan peterson is the same. Follow spirituality and be free from this humanized psychology
This guy was no genious. Simply at a position to be slightly forward in his time about a pathetic subject to this DAY
Wow. So enlightening. Just going to correct you: it's *genius*.
Bet you couldn't do half the stuff I can do