Rudolf Otto and Mystical Experience
Religious Studies September 1, 1991 DOI: 10.1017/s0034412500021065 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mystical experience |
| Key points | Argues that the common criticism that Rudolf Otto neglected mystical experience is misplaced and stems from a misreading of his work by most of his students. Contends that The Idea of the Holy offers a substantive account of mystical experience and of its relationship to devotional religion that remains relevant and challenges current phenomenological and philosophical assumptions about mysticism. |
Abstract
Rudolf Otto has often been criticized for not showing enough interest in mystical experience. In this article I want to demonstrate how misplaced this criticism is and to show that it is based on an erroneous interpretation of the relationship between numinous and mystical experience in his work by most of his students. I shall argue that, particularly inThe Idea of the Holy, Otto offers an account of the nature of mystical experience which should be of considerable interest to students of mysticism today, not least because it calls into question many of the assumptions that are presently made about mysticism by phenomenologists and philosophers of religion. Most of this article will be devoted to an examination of references to mysticism inThe Idea of the Holyand to an evaluation of Otto's observations about the nature of mystical experience, and I shall conclude that Otto's account of the relation-ship between mystical and devotional forms of religion provides a significant, but frequently overlooked, insight into the nature of mystical experience.