Entre saberes e crenças: ciência e experiência religiosa no pensamento de William James (1842-1910)

Abstract

This dissertation's a study about William James' work, with special focus on science and religion. It deals with notion as truth, religions experience, belief, science and evidence, in order to understand how pragmatism took these subjects, between the nineteenth century and the early twentyeth century ( when many fields of knowledge got to affirm their scientific status). Two basic points direct the text: 1) The consideration of the sistemic character of James' works, and the conection between works and subject; 2) The comprehension that there are many religious and teological questions across James' works, with influence on his contributions on science and philosophy. There's three large parts in the text. In the first one, questions about determinism and free choice are considered, with focus on the ontological proposition of free will, and James' criticism on "determinist evolutionism". In addition, are discussed the question of evidence in the scientific debate about truth, with the religious believes as a counterpoint. In the second one, the text The Varieties of Religious Experience's considered in the first plan. The central question's to understand how James took the religious experience as a scientific theme. Are considered as much the criticism on medical materialism (and its pathological approach of religion) so much the proposition of religious experience how directive for people's future actions. In the third, the last one, the principal work studied is Pragmatism. As the pragmatism method (with the consideration of practical differences on phylosophical investigations), as the pragmatic truth's theory are considered. Formulating his truth's theory. James ascertains that "the true in our manner of thinking is the production of believes that proves itself to be good, too, for definet, assignable reasons".