Seraph, Snake, and Saint: The Subconscious Mind In James' Varieties

Abstract

N a life which some feel was consecrated to conceptual confusion, William James never produced a more troublesome text than The Varieties of Religious Experience. Even the much maligned Pragmatism lectures pale before the submerged assumptions, hazy distinctions, and aweinspiring overstatements of the Varieties. Among the many instructive problems provided by this book is a prime example of a neglected distinction growing up to cause trouble: the unwary reader does not realize until too late that there is something wrong with James' conception of the subconscious mind, a conception that plays a central role in his final conclusions. In this paper, I will first briefly indicate the fuzziness of James' conception of the subconscious; next, I will show how James puts the subconscious to good use early in the Varieties and how his fuzzy conception later turns into the rotten apple which spoils his conclusion; finally, I will discuss a brief passage in which James unwittingly suggests a different approach to the gods than the rather murky tunnel of the subconscious.