James Henry Leuba (April 9, 1868 – December 8, 1946) was an American psychologist best known for his contributions to the psychology of religion. His son Clarence James Leuba was also a psychologist and taught at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.[1]
James Henry Leuba | |
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 | |
| Born | April 9, 1868 Motiers, Neuchatel, Switzerland |
| Died | December 8, 1946 (aged 78) |
| Spouse | Bertha Aline Schopher |
| Children | 7 |
| Era | 19th/20th century philosophy |
| Region | Western Philosophy and Psychology |
| School | Naturalism |
| Academic advisors | G. Stanley Hall |
Main interests | Naturalism, psychology, psychology of religion, mysticism |
Career
editLeuba was born in Neuchâtel Switzerland, and later moved to America. He took his Ph.D. at Clark University under G. Stanley Hall.[1] His work was marked by a tendency to explain mysticism and other religious experiences in psychological terms. Philosophically, his position may be described as naturalism.[2] His work points to similarities between religious mysticism and yoga or drug-induced mysticism; he does accept differences between these in terms of moral motivation and to what uses mysticism is put.[3] His psychological study of religion aroused opposition from churchmen.[1] He argued for a naturalistic treatment of religion, which he considered to be necessary if religious psychology was to be looked at scientifically. He was an atheist.[4]
Bibliography
edit- Leuba, J. H. (1909). The Psychological Origin and the Nature of Religion.
- Leuba, J. H. (1912). The Psychological Study of Religion: Its Origin, Function, and Future. New York: Macmillan.
- Leuba, J. H. (1916). The Belief in God and Immortality. Boston: Sherman, French.
- Leuba, J. H. (1925). The Psychology of Religious Mysticism. New York: Harcourt, Brace. (1925 UK edition. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Trubner).
- Leuba, J. H. (1933). God or Man? A Study of the Value of God to Man. New York: Henry Holt and Company. (1934 UK edition. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Trubner).
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c McBride, Katharine E. (1947). James Henry Leuba: 1867-1946. American Journal of Psychology 60 (4): 645-646.
- ^ Atheist Scholar
- ^ PsycNET
- ^ Martin, Michael. (2007). The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge University Press. p. 310. ISBN 9780521842709. "Among celebrity atheists with much biographical data, we find leading psychologists and psychoanalysts. We could provide a long list, including...James Leuba..."
External links
edit
- Works by James H. Leuba at Project Gutenberg
- Works by James H. Leuba at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Works by or about James H. Leuba at the Internet Archive
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