Theosophy or Psychological Religion
The Gifford Lectures Delivered before the University of London in 1892

First presented as a lecture series, this 1893 publication argues for the necessity of historical method in understanding religious phenomena.

F. Max Müller (Author)

9781108073264, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 May 2011

614 pages
21.6 x 14 x 3.5 cm, 0.8 kg

German-born Sanskritist and philologist Max Müller (1823–1900) was a pioneer in the field of comparative mythology and religion. Settling in England in 1846, during his distinguished career he served as Taylorian professor of modern European languages, curator of the Bodleian Library and Oxford's first professor of comparative philology. The content of this book was originally presented as part of a lecture series delivered at the University of Glasgow in 1893, where Müller was serving as the Gifford Lecturer. Müller's aim in presenting these lectures was to show that the only way of properly understanding religious phenomena was through utilising historical method. The three volumes preceding this one focused on 'physical religion', 'natural religion' and 'anthropological religion'; this fourth book, on theosophy, contains fifteen lectures, the subject matter ranging from Alexandrian Christianity and the eschatology of Plato to the journey of the soul after death.

Preface
1. The historical study of religion
2. The true value of the sacred books examined
3. The historical relationship of ancient religions and philosophies
4. The relation of psychological to physical and anthropological religion
5. Journey of the soul after death
6. The eschatology of the Avesta
7. Eschatology of Plato
8. True immortality
9. The Vedânta-philosophy
10. The two schools of the Vedânta
11. Sufiism
12. The logos
13. Alexandrian Christianity
14. Dionysius the Areopagite
15. Christian theosophy
Index.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of religion [HRAB]