The Manner of Association between Sensation and Cognizance in Religion, Mysticism, and Religious and Mystical Experience according to William James and William Hawking

Sensation and cognizance according to religious and mystical philosophers have always been known as two formative components of religion, mysticism and religious and mystical experience. From among these philosophers, two western religious philosophers: James and Hawking, had a greater role in ccommodating these two factors in religion and mysticism. The topic of this article is the manner of this composition according to these two personalities. According to James, sensation is the deeper source of religion. James considers mystical experiences to be of the category of sensations and emotions, and also considers them to have a cognitive aspect; but according to him the cognizance that is present in experience is a cognizance without the mediation of concepts. Hawking considers the essence of religion to be religious experience and for this experience to be mixed with religious sensations and ideas. These ideas are present in the level of the experience itself and in a more distinct manner, manifest as the result of experience. Experience, oversteps the principleof idea and argument, and in the next level the mind uses these experiences and starts to create concepts, theories and clear arguments in order to give them constancy and a firm place. Therefore Hawking considers religious experience to not only be sensational and cognitional but rather conceptual and almost theoretical, in such a way that concepts and theories are present within it although they are produced in a more complete and clearer form. In such a way, Hawking, in criticizing James, not only gives way to nonconceptual cognizance in religion but rather also sees conceptual cognizance and also deductive cognizance to have roots in religion itself and religious experience.