Hyper–Kantianism in Recent Discussions of Mystical Experience
J. William Forgie
Religious Studies June 1, 1985 DOI: 10.1017/s0034412500017194 (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 debate over mystical experience turns on competing views of the experience-interpretation relation: the 'traditional view' associated with Stace, which supports the doctrine of unanimity, versus a 'hyper-Kantian' picture advanced by critics who see interpretation as shaping experience and who reject unanimity. |
Abstract
Much work on mystical experience has taken for granted a certain view about the relation between experience and its interpretation. This ‘traditional view’ has received perhaps its most explicit statement in Stace's Mysticism and Philosophy. It is a view which is attractive to proponents of the doctrine of unanimity, the doctrine (roughly put) that at the phenomenological level all mystical experiences are basically similar. Recently, however, in a growing body of literature, the traditional view has come under heavy fire. Its critics adopt a Kantian, indeed a hyper–Kantian, picture of experience. And they see the traditional view, accordingly, as ‘naïve’ and ‘simplistic’. In addition, hyper–Kantians typically reject the doctrine of unanimity.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mystical experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Vectorial Cerebral Hemisphericity as Differential Sources for the Sensed Presence, Mystical Experiences and Religious Conversions | 1993 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The epistemic innocence of psychedelic states. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mystical Experience and Religious Doctrine | 1982 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- 6 Scholars Lock Horns July 7, 2005
- 7 On the Couch, in the Lab July 7, 2005
- 4 Divine Cosmos July 7, 2005
- 2 ‘Being All, Knowing All, Loving All’ Mystical Encounters with the Natural World July 7, 2005
- 1 Extrovertive Mystical Experience Mystical Encounters with the Natural World July 7, 2005
and 1 more in the library