Aristotelian position in the empirical sense

from Pragmatism Commentary by Claude Aristotelian position in the empirical sense What is the “atheistic position in the empirical sense?

The “atheistic position in the empirical sense” is one of the views of religion presented by James in the context of pragmatism.

Traditional atheism acknowledges God’s existence a priori and holds that the world is governed by that God. James, on the other hand, argues that the existence of God should be evaluated on the basis of our concrete religious experience.

In other words, the existence of God is not metaphysically disproved, but is supported by the empirical consequences (e.g., moral guidance or spiritual peace) of people’s practice of faith. If faith in God has a positive impact on our lives, then it is an empirically meaningful faith.

This position is also compatible with religious pluralism. It is not a position of absolute truth, because it does not insist on the absolute truth of any particular religious doctrine, but rather believes that various forms of belief can have empirical meaning.

Furthermore, James believed that this position had the potential to soften the conflict between science and religion. For he believed that atheism in the empirical sense is not necessarily inconsistent with the scientific worldview, but rather complements the meaning of human experience in areas that science cannot deal with.

This view of religion has also influenced modern psychology of religion thinking, which emphasizes the subjective religious experience of the individual. It is also a way of thinking that offers suggestions in the search for a flexible alternative to the fundamentalist view of religion.

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