The Playful Self-Involution of Divine Consciousness: Sri Aurobindo’s Evolutionary Cosmopsychism and His Response to the Individuation Problem
The Monist October 16, 2021 DOI: 10.1093/monist/onab025 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Individuation Consciousness Materialism Epistemology Reductionism Relevance law Conversation Psychoanalysis Theology |
| Citations | 33 |
| Key points | Argues that Sri Aurobindo espoused a sophisticated form of evolutionary cosmopsychism, proposing that the Divine Saccidānanda is involved in all things and manifests through evolution, with a novel solution to the individuation problem. |
Abstract
Abstract This article argues that the Indian philosopher-mystic Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) espoused a sophisticated form of cosmopsychism that has great contemporary relevance. After first discussing Aurobindo’s prescient reflections on the “central problem of consciousness” and his arguments against materialist reductionism, I explain how he developed a panentheistic philosophy of “realistic Adwaita” on the basis of his own spiritual experiences and his intensive study of the Vedāntic scriptures. He derived from this realistic Advaita philosophy a highly original doctrine of evolutionary cosmopsychism, according to which the Divine Saccidānanda is “involved” in everything in the universe and gradually manifests itself at each stage of the evolutionary process from matter to life to mind, and ultimately, to Supermind—the final stage that is yet to come, upon the attainment of which we will attain knowledge of our true divine nature as Saccidānanda. I then reconstruct Aurobindo’s novel solution to the individuation problem, according to which the Divine Saccidānanda individuates into various distinct consciousnesses by playfully limiting itself through a process of “exclusive concentration.” Finally, I highlight the continued relevance of Aurobindo’s evolutionary cosmopsychism by bringing him into conversation with Itay Shani, a contemporary proponent of cosmopsychism.
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 10
- Cosmopsychism and the Problem of Evil Sophia June 24, 2023
- The universe as aṁśa of Brahman: towards a Viśiṣṭādvaita existence-cosmopsychism Religious Studies July 31, 2026
- Consciousness and Śakti-based Vedānta cosmopsychism: A philosophical reconstruction of Jīva’s Bhedābheda Vedānta Religious Studies May 14, 2026
- Rāmānuja’s cosmopsychist-panentheistic solution to the hard problem of consciousness Religious Studies July 23, 2025
- Panentheistic Cosmopsychism Swami Vivekananda's Vedāntic Cosmopolitanism February 17, 2022
and 5 more in the library