Mysticism and Early Analytic Philosophy
Warszawskie Studia Teologiczne September 27, 2021 DOI: 10.30439/wst.2021.1.7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that early analytic philosophy, exemplified by Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein, was interested in mysticism, with Russell's logical methods expressing a mystical striving to know the world sub specie aeternitatis and Wittgenstein's philosophy locating the mystical in what can only be shown beyond meaningful propositions. |
Abstract
Early analytic philosophy is known for its logical rigor that seems to leave no place for non-rational sources of knowledge such as mystical experiences. The following paper shows on the example of Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein that despite of this early analytic philosophy was interested in mysticism and it also shows the roots of this interest. For Russell an application of logical methods to solving philosophical puzzled was an expression of a more fundamental striving – to know the world as it is, sub specie aeternitatis – which is mystical in nature. In turn early Wittgenstein’s philosophy sets the limits of meaningful propositions and provides the distinction between what can be said and what can only be shown and what manifests itself in the world. The latter belongs to the realm of the mystical.