The Demons of William James: Religious Pragmatism Explores Unusual Mental States

ISBN-13: 9783030062699 / Angielski / Miękka / 2019 / 169 str.

Tadd Ruetenik

Recenzje

"Ruetenik accomplished his goal of revealing the ambiguous nature of the demon, ... the interdisciplinary approach makes it more accessible. I would recommend it to anyone interested in religious experiences, James, or Spiritualism in general." (Courtney Lacy, Reading Religion, readingreligion.org, May 22, 2019)

Spis treści

1. James Family Vastation
            1.1 Clarifying the “Demonic”
            1.2 The Value of the Unusual

1.3 The 1906 Earthquake, with Aftershocks

1.4 The Vastation of Swedenborg

1.5 The Vastation of Henry James the Elder

1.6 The Vastation of William James

1.7 The Vastation of Henry James

1.8 Pragmatist Exorcism
2. Pragmatism and Demonology: Circumspection of the Topic

2.1 Clashing Temperaments and Pragmatic Dissolutions
            2.2 Skeptical Challenges

2.3 A Demonological Case Study

3. Piper, Salem, and the Communal Demonic

            3.1 The Spectacle of Hypnotism

            3.2 Socially Conditioned Demonic Possession

            3.3 The One and the Many

            3.4 Possessing Mrs. Piper

            3.5 Dr. Phinuit, the Fraudulent Frenchman

            3.6 The Curiously Fragmentary Dr. Hodgson

4. Contemporary Mediums and the Return of William James

            4.1 James Dances with Susy Smith

            4.2 James Speaks with Jane Roberts

            4.3 James Speaks Again with Smith

            4.4 Report on the James Controls

            4.5 The Demons of Allison DuBois

            4.6 The Demons of John Edward

4.7 Hunting for the Big H 

5. The Varieties of Demonic Experience: A Study in Quasi-Human Nature

            5.1 Functional Demonology

            5.2 Personal Demonology

            5.3 Hellfire Demonology

            5.4 Technological Demonology

6. Embraced by the Demon: The Perils of Immediate Experience

            6.1 The Varieties of Near Death Experience

            6.2 The Demons of Swedenborg

7. The “Cruel” Death of William James

7.1 A Person’s a Person, no Matter How Dead

7.2 The Unpardonable Sin

7.3 Suggestibility and Sacrifice

7.4 Demons Hidden Since the Foundation of the World

7.5 Salem: Satan’s Insidious Deception
            7.6 The Exorcism of William James 

O autorze

Tadd Ruetenik is Professor of Philosophy at St. Ambrose University, USA.

Blurb

This book is a psychological exploration of unusual minds, a religious exploration of demonological myth, and a philosophical exploration of the reaches of pragmatism. It uses topics such as hypnotism, mediumship, and mass possession to argue for a comprehensive understanding of the demonic that acknowledges not only the creativity which it encourages, but also the danger it can bring. Professor Ruetenik uses James’ religious pragmatism to evaluate the relevance of psychical research, and to explain common beliefs regarding demons, spirits, and other controlling personalities.

 The conclusion of this interdisciplinary research is as alarming as it is fascinating: When exploring the demons of William James, we discover that ordinary personality cannot be clearly separated from what we consider the demonic.