William James is frequently considered one of America's most important philosophers, as well as a foundational thinker for the study of religion. Despite his reputation as the founder of pragmatism, he is rarely considered a serious philosopher or religious thinker. In this new interpretation David Lamberth argues that James's major contribution was to develop a systematic metaphysics of experience integrally related to his developing pluralistic and social religious ideas. Lamberth systematically interprets James's radically empiricist world-view and argues for an early dating (1895) for his commitment to the metaphysics of radical empiricism. He offers a close reading of Varieties of Religious Experience; and concludes by connecting James's ideas about experience, pluralism and truth to current debates in philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and theology, suggesting James's functional, experiential metaphysics as a conceptual aid in bridging the social and interpretive with the immediate and concrete while avoiding naive realism.

"Lamberth's book is an extraordinarily precise analysis of James's transition from an empirical psychologist to a metaphysician, and he offers detailed interpretations of James's religious views within the context of James's attempt to overcome the perennial bugbear of philosophy: mind-body dualism." Neal Leavitt, The Boston Book Review

"This volume is a welcome addition to the body of Jamesian scholarship. In this clearly written, well-researched, and convincing book, Lamberth has unveiled a philosopher worthy of careful attention." Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society

"This study is beautifully Jamesian in character." Review of Metaphysics

"...Lamberth's interpretation of "pure experience" sharpens the sense of James's defense of religion...It is an excellent path through James's later thought." The Boston Book Review

"This is a very bold and exciting book..." Philosophy and Phenomenological