James H. Leuba

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James Henry Leuba
20th century philosophy
RegionWestern Philosophy and Psychology
SchoolNaturalism
Academic advisorsG. Stanley Hall
Main interests
Naturalism, psychology, psychology of religion, mysticism

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]

Career

Leuba 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]

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