The Argument from Religious Experience

This essay collection examines the philosophical status and evidential value of religious experiences within contemporary debates about God's existence. Kwan systematically analyzes various forms of religious experience, from mystical encounters and conversion experiences to everyday moments of perceived divine presence, evaluating their potential as evidence for theistic belief. The work engages critically with both defenders and critics of the argument from religious experience, including William James, Caroline Franks Davis, Richard Swinburne, and skeptical philosophers such as Michael Martin and Nicholas Everitt.

The collection addresses several central philosophical questions: whether religious experiences can provide justification for belief in God, how to assess competing explanations of such experiences, and what epistemic weight should be accorded to testimony about religious encounters. Kwan develops a cumulative case approach, arguing that while individual religious experiences may face various objections, the collective weight of diverse religious experiences across cultures and historical periods creates a stronger evidential basis. He examines naturalistic explanations, including psychological, sociological, and neurobiological accounts, while defending the rationality of theistic interpretations under certain conditions.

Methodologically, Kwan employs both analytic philosophy and phenomenological insights, drawing on empirical studies of religious experience while maintaining focus on epistemological issues. He introduces important distinctions between different types of religious experiences and their evidential force, arguing that some categories resist reductive explanation more successfully than others. The work critically engages with the principle of credulity and debates about when it is rational to trust experiential evidence.

The collection's significance lies in its comprehensive treatment of an argument that remains central to lived religion despite often being marginalized in academic philosophy of religion. Kwan challenges both naive acceptance of all religious experience claims and sweeping skeptical dismissals, developing a nuanced middle position that acknowledges the complexity of evaluating experiential evidence. His work responds to the increasing naturalistic challenges to religious experience while demonstrating that sophisticated versions of the argument remain philosophically viable.

By bringing together discussions of epistemology, phenomenology, psychology, and comparative religion, the collection provides valuable resources for understanding how religious experiences function in contemporary debates about God's existence and the rationality of religious belief.