Experience and Theory

Mary Gerhart; Allan Melvin Russell; Mary Gerhart; Allan Melvin Russell

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.2004.00555.x

Research Articles
Experience and Theory

Abstract

N. R. Hanson's discussion of experience is criticized. Experience, though necessary for knowing, is insufficient as a basis for understanding in either science or religion. Experience alone can be misleading. We may begin with experience, but we cannot claim to understand until experience has been mediated by theory. The article is excerpted from Metaphoric Process: The Creation of Scientific and Religious Understanding (Gerhart and Russell 1984), Chapter 2.

Keywords

illusion, direct experience, mysticism, phenomenology, Don Ihde, instrumentation, demonstration, sense perception, N. R. Hanson, mediation, theory

How to Cite

Gerhart, M. & Russell, A., (2004) “Experience and Theory”, Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 39(1), 5–11. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2004.00555.x

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References

Gerhart, Mary, and Allan MelvinRussell. 1984. Metaphoric Process: The Creation of Scientific and Religious Understanding. Fort Worth: Texas Christian Univ. Press.

Hanson, Norwood Russell. 1972. Patterns of Discovery. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.

Ihde, Don. 1979. Technics and Praxis. Boston: Reidel.

James, William. [1902] 1958. The Varieties of Religious Experience. New York: New American Library.

Polanyi, Michael. 1964. Personal Knowledge. New York: Harper Torchbook.

Kuhn, Thomas S.1957. The Copernican Revolution. New York: Vintage Books.

Authors

Mary Gerhart (Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science)
Allan Melvin Russell (Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science)

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Issue

Volume 39 • Issue 1 • March 2004

Publication details

Pages	5–11

Dates

Published	2004-03-02

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2004.00555.x

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