Men, Religion, and Melancholia: James, Otto, Jung, and Eriksson

· Yale University Press
Ebook
235
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

It is not by coincidence that the key figures in the psychology of religion-William James, Rudolph Otto, Carl Jung, and Erik Erikson-each fought a lifelong battle with melancholia, argues Donald Capps in this engrossing book. These four men experienced similar traumas in early childhood: each perceived a loss of mother's unconditional love. In the deep melancholy that resulted, they turned to religion. Capps contends that the main impetus for men to become religious lies in such melancholia, and that these four authors were typical, although their losses were especially severe because of complicating personal circumstances. Offering a new way of viewing the major classics in the psychology of religion, Capps explores the psychological origins of these authors' own religious visions through a sensitive examination of their writings.Using Freud's "Mourning and Melancholia" and "The Uncanny" as interpretive keys, the author explores James's The Varieties of Religious Experience, Otto's The Idea of the Holy, Jung's Answer to Job, and Erikson's Young Man Luther. All four texts address in significant ways the role of melancholy in religion, says Capps, and he emphasizes that melancholy is central to the authors' ways of understanding religion. Each developed an unconventional or idiosyncratic religious vision in the search for a means to address his psychological loss and to reverse or transcend its effects. Capps assesses the adequacy of each author's religious views, recommends forms of religion best suited to melancholiacs, and also considers the role that a father surrogate can play in helping a young man cope with melancholia, as did Samuel Johnson with James Boswell.

About the author


.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.