The World Within & The Nature and Authority of Conscience

Rufus Jones’s two books, The World Within and The Nature and Authority of Conscience, are compiled for the first time into one volume because the two pursue the topic of the soul for two important reasons. First, Jones’s two books enlighten us to the idea that the soul’s proper function is the basis for a healthy conscience. Second, according to Jones, a materialistic world-view, which claims there is no proof for the existence of the soul, is without sufficient reasonable evidence to do so. Contrary to this materialistic view, Jones’s two books reinstate the validity of the soul, in forming our conscience, our behaviours, and therefore our lives.

Rufus Jones was an American writer, magazine editor, philosopher, and college professor. In 1917, following U.S. entry into World War I, Jones joined other Friends in organizing the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and became its first chairman. At first providing opportunities for conscientious objectors to do relief work in Europe as an alternative to military service, AFSC later widened its program to include educational and relief work around the world. Considered the leading U.S. exponent of the mystical viewpoint within Quakerism, Jones brought mysticism and its accessibility as a tool for social activism to the attention of the emerging “middlebrow” public in the years between World War I and World War II. Jones championed the particular mystical experience, separated it from specific religious doctrine, and joined it to a dedication to social activism on a national and international scale.