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Zusatztext 'It is an excellent piece of philosophical analysis, combining careful conceptual reflection with a review of relevant material from the fields of cognitive and social psychology. Franks Davis is to be praised for drawing attention to the complexity of these appraisals; perhaps her book will serve as a stepping stone to a full response to the cumulative counter-explanation challenge.' Douglas Chismar, Ashland University, Faith and Philosophy Klappentext This study examines the nature of religious experiences and whether they can be used as evidence for religious beliefs. Davis discusses the important philosophical issues raised by religious experience, such as the role of models and metaphors in descriptions of religious experience, and the way experiences in general are used as evidence for claims about the world. Using contemporary and classic sources from the world religions, she gives an account of different types of religious experience and, drawing extensively on psychological and sociological as well as philosophical literature, deals with skeptical challenges about religious experiences. Zusammenfassung This clearly presented study examines the nature of religious experiences, and asks whether they can be used as evidence for religious beliefs. The author discusses important philosophical issues raised by religious experience, such as the role of models and metaphors in their description, and the way experiences in general are used as evidence for claims about the world.Using contemporary and classic sources from the world's religions, the author gives an account of different types of religious experience. She also draws extensively on psychological, sociological, and philosophical literature to meet sceptical challenges, and concludes that, like most experiences, they are most effective as evidence within an argument which combines evidence from a wide range of sources. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction; Some presuppositions; Religious experience; Arguments from religious experience; A cumulative case; Challenges to religious experience; Experience and interpretation; The conflicting claims challenge; The reductionist challenge; Towards a cumulative case for Theism...
