Publisher's Synopsis
William JamesÆ celebrated lecture on ôThe Will to Believeö has kindled spirited controversy since the day it was delivered. In this lively reappraisal of that controversy, Father OÆConnell contributes some fresh contentions: that JamesÆ argument should be viewed against his indebtedness to Pascal and Renouvier; that it works primarily to validate our ôover-beliefsö ; and most surprising perhaps, that James envisages our ôpassional natureö as intervening, not after, but before and throughout, our intellectual weighing of the evidence for belief.
