New Books in Religion Hans Van Eyghen, "The Epistemology of Spirit Beliefs" (Routledge, 2023)
Jan 3, 2026
Hans Van Eyghen, an assistant professor at Tilburg University, shares his insights on spirit beliefs from his book, The Epistemology of Spirit Beliefs. He explores how cultural experiences can justify these beliefs, challenging the assumption that they are mere aberrations. Van Eyghen distinguishes between encounters with spirits and God, and he discusses the implications of mediumship and possession. He also argues that traditional scientific explanations fall short in understanding spirit experiences, paving the way for future research on cognition and ritual.
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Spirits Deserve Philosophical Attention
- Philosophical focus on God overlooks widespread beliefs in lesser supernatural beings found cross-culturally.
- Van Eyghen argues epistemology should include spirits because they recur in cognitive and anthropological literature.
Experiences Can Justify Spirit Beliefs
- Religious experiences that justify belief in God can analogously justify spirit-beliefs when not defeated.
- Van Eyghen contends spirit experiences are common and lack obvious undermining conditions.
Build Converging Arguments For Claims
- Combine multiple arguments (experience, cosmology, design) to strengthen claims about supernatural beings.
- Van Eyghen recommends converging evidence across routes for a more robust epistemic position.
