Mysticism and Its Contexts
The Problem of Pure Consciousness March 29, 1990 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780195059809.003.0007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key points | Argues that a methodology for studying mysticism can coherently steer between essentialism and relativism by recognizing context-dependence without denying experiential novelty or the possibility of consciousness-purity. |
Abstract
Abstract In 1983 Steven Katz thusly characterized the methodological dilemma which has come to dominate discussion of mysticism and mystical experience since the publication of his edited collection entitled Mystical Experience and Philosophical Analysis in 1978. My overall aim in this essay is to demonstrate that the philosophical analysis of mysticism is not compelled to adopt either of these apparently mutually exclusive positions and that it is possible, perhaps even necessary, to formulate a methodology which coherently steers between the Scylla of mystical essentialism, on the one hand, and the Charybdis of mystical relativism, on the other. In particular will argue that the recognition of the context- dependent nature of all mystical experience is neither incompatible with experiential novelty nor with the occurrence of what Ninian Smart labels the experience of consciousness-purity.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Emptiness and Unknowing: An Essay in Comparative Mysticism Buddhist Path, Buddhist Teachings: Studies in Memory of L.S. Cousins October 8, 2019
- Emptiness and Unknowing Buddhist Studies Review December 31, 2018
- Gothic Tradition of the Mystic Experience Transformation in European Linguoculture Studies in Philology May 30, 2026
- A neuroepistemology of mystical experience Transpersonal Psychology Review 2020