William James and mystical experience
I can explain William James' understanding of religious and mystical experiences and how they contribute to the question of God's existence.
William James and mystical experience
I can explain William James' understanding of religious and mystical experiences and how they contribute to the question of God's existence.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- William James studied religious experiences from a psychologist's perspective and explained their impact on philosophy.
- He relied on observation, conversation and evidence of impact to reach his conclusions.
- William James identified four features of mystical experience.
- He did not seek to prove the existence of a particular God or gods.
- William James concluded that his research leads to a likelihood of a god existing.
Keywords
Mystical experience - a religious experience where someone feels a deep personal connection to a higher power
Pragmatism - a philosophical approach that assesses ideas based on their usefulness in real-life situations
Religious experience - personal feeling or moment when someone believes they connect with a higher power
William James - 20th century psychologist and philosopher who popularised pragmatism
Common misconception
Students may think James had a clear view on the existence of God.
James' investigtions led him to be agnostic and open to the idea of God rather than to be a believer.
To help you plan your year 8 religious education lesson on: William James and mystical experience, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 8 religious education lesson on: William James and mystical experience, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 religious education lessons from the Knowing God: does religious experience prove God exists? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.