Innate Mystical Capacities and the Nature of the Self
The Innate Capacity December 4, 1997 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780195116977.003.0009 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Plotinus, in context, endorses an innate capacity for mystical union available to all, while also decrying its neglect—a theme repeated by later spiritual authors, forming what might be called "mystical anthropology." |
Abstract
Abstract “SHUT YOUR EYES, and change to and wake another way of seeing, which everyone has but few use.” Plotinus, understood in the context provided by the spiritually charged atmosphere of Neoplatonism and of his own writings, here endorses the idea that an innate capacity for mystical union is possessed by all of us. (He sounds as well the frequently accompanying note in mystical writers decrying the neglect of this capacity’s development.) It is an idea that was to be repeated by an imposing succession of spiritual authors in the West, and by comparable authors elsewhere. To speak of such an innate capacity is to enter the realm of what might be called “mystical anthropology.”