William James on the Courage to Believe

William James' celebrated lecture on "e;The Will to Believe"e; has kindled spirited controversy since the day it was delivered. In this lively reappraisal of that controversy, Father O'Connell contributes some fresh contentions: that James' argument should be viewed against his indebtedness to Pascal and Renouvier; that it works primarily to validate our "e;over-beliefs"e; ; and most surprising perhaps, that James envisages our "e;passional nature"e; as intervening, not after, but before and throughout, our intellectual weighing of the evidence for belief.