William James’s Assessment of Nihilism as a Psychological Phenomenon
Phainomena December 29, 2024 Jon Stewart
The present article examines the contribution to the problem of nihilism found in the American philosopher and psychologist William James, specifically in his essay “Is Life Worth Living?” from 1896 and the chapter “The Sick Soul” from his The Varieties of Religious Experience from 1902. At the age of 27, James suffered a period of intense depression that lasted from the fall of 1869 until the...
DOI: 10.32022/phi33.2024.130-131.2 (opens in new tab)
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Depression
Nihilism
Psychology of religion
Meaninglessness
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