Síntese Revista de Filosofia
January 2, 2018
William J. Wainwright
Abstract: This paper examines two types of transcendence and their relation to love. Ontological transcendence is a feature of metaphysical traditions such as Plotinus’s or Shankara’s that sharply distinguish ultimate reality from the space-time world. Experential transcendence is a feature of cognitive experiences whose object (if any) is neither the space-time world as a whole or anything in...
March 2, 2017
William J. Wainwright
20 citations
Most of those who have studied mysticism believe that there is a significant relationship between mysticism and morality. Albert Schweitzer, Arthur Danto, and others think that mystical consciousness is incompatible with morality. The dominant view, however, is that mysticism supports it. Steven T. Katz is typical: “As an historical observation, it is difficult to find any major mystical...
European Journal for Philosophy of Religion
June 21, 2015
William J. Wainwright
Recent students of mysticism have sharply distinguished monistic from theistic mysticism. The former is more or less identified with the empty consciousness experience and the latter with the love mysticism of such figures as Bernard of Clairvaux. I argue that a sharp distinction between the two is unwarranted. Western medieval mystics, for example, combined the apophatic theology of Dionysius...
Journal of the American Academy of Religion
1977
William J. Wainwright
3 citations
Part I examines Walter Stace's classification of mystical experience, R. C. Zahner's criticism of that classification, and Ninian Smart's response to Zaehner. Zaehner rightly faults Stace for distorting theistic mysticism and for ignoring the Hindu tradition of love mysticism. Smart's criticisms of Zaehner are to the point, though inconclusive. However, his own thesis is incoherent. If (as he...
Religious Studies
September 1, 1973
William J. Wainwright
14 citations
In this paper I propose to examine the cognitive status of mystical experience. There are, I think, (at least) three distinct but overlapping sorts of religious experience. (1) In the first place, there are two kinds of mystical experience. The extrovertive or nature mystic (in some sense) identifies himself with a world which is both transfigured and one. The introvertive mystic withdraws from...