Curricular Clouds of (Un)Knowing: Learning About Mystery From the Mystic Traditions
Holly Tsun Haggarty
Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies June 30, 2025 DOI: 10.25071/1916-4467.40844 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Epistemology Literature |
| Key points | Argues that mystery is an ineluctable feature of metaphysical theory and that curriculum should invite mystery by exploring existential beliefs through contemplative pathways. |
Abstract
Curricula have traditionally been concerned with proposing intentions and expectations for the teaching and learning of knowledge. What if curriculum conversed not only with the known, but the unknowable—with mystery? In this work, I investigate mystic traditions to learn about mystery. I come to a characterization of mystery as the dialectical condition of knowing while at the same time not knowing. Mystery is also an epithet of ultimate reality—a wholeness, which, all the while not completely knowable, nonetheless, attracts the utmost attention in its possibility for wisdom and meaningful transformation. The mystic traditions remind that mystery is an ineluctable feature of any metaphysical theory that aims to explicate ultimate reality, and because of this, belief is an inherent aspect of any metaphysical understanding. Furthermore, because metaphysical belief underpins our understanding of knowledge, a curriculum that invites mystery invites exploring, discerning and acting on existential beliefs. The mystic traditions proffer a way to approach mystery, namely the contemplative pathway, which can be engaged as both epistemological model and method. Mystic traditions also demonstrate how to deal with paradox, one of which is engaging reason to prepare for revelation. Thus, I conclude my essay with a poetic inquiry.
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 |