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Abstract

This article challenges Bevacqua and Hoffman’s (2010) seminal article in this journal on the degree to which Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) falls short in its attempt to download the complete spirituality of William James into the AA canon. Results of the analysis of this question reveal that AA has fully incorporated the depth of The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902/1985). When application of James’s pragmatic method is applied to AA, the organization emerges as complete, with the abundant fruit of almost 2 million members worldwide. AA practices are not exclusivist, and do not offer a “one size fits all” restrictive paradigm. Rather, inspired by James, AA consistently gives explicit permission to members to find a path of their own construction that develops into an inclusive paradigm that has a lifelong trajectory.

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William James Alcoholics Anonymous spirituality

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References

Alcoholics Anonymous. (1975). As Bill sees it: The A.A. way of life. New York, NY: A.A. World Services. Retrieved from http://www.aaonlinemeeting.net/uploads/7/9/4/4/79446362/as-bill-sees-it.pdf

Alcoholics Anonymous. (2001). Alcoholics Anonymous (4th ed.). New York, NY: A.A. World Services. Retrieved from http://www.portlandeyeopener.com/AA-BigBook-4th-Edition.pdf

Alcoholics Anonymous. (2016). Estimated worldwide AA individual and group membership. Retrieved from www.aa.org/assets/en_US/smf-132_en.pdf

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The Influence of William James on the Spirituality of Alcoholics’ Anonymous

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