The Impossible Possibility of Palmquist’s Kant and Mysticism
Chris L. Firestone
Kantian Review December 21, 2020 DOI: 10.1017/s1369415420000485 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key findings | The reviewer argues that while Palmquist's book successfully disturbs the standard portrait of Kant as the all-destroyer of metaphysics and religious experience, his argument for a 'Critical mysticism' spanning the Critical philosophy and Opus Postumum is inconclusive, since it is impossible to know whether his interpretation of the Opus Postumum is more right than its competitors; the conflict of interpretations makes it a hermeneutic 'impossible possibility.' |
Abstract
Abstract Stephen R. Palmquist’s Kant and Mysticism revisits his earlier work on Kant and Swedenborg, arguing that, contrary to standard interpretations, the arguments of Dreams of a Spirit-Seer expand into ‘Critical mysticism’ throughout the Critical philosophy and into the Opus Postumum. Although the beginning portions of Palmquist’s book successfully disturb the standard portrait of Kant as the all-destroyer of metaphysics and religious experience, his argument for critical mysticism is inconclusive. It is impossible to know if his interpretation of the Opus Postumum is more right than its competitors. The conflict of interpretations shows Palmquist’s interpretation to be a hermeneutic impossible possibility.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Are “mystical experiences” essential for antidepressant actions of ketamine and the classic psychedelics? | 2024 | Review | |
| The Beyond Within: The LSD Story | 1965 | Book review | |
| Psilocybin occasioned mystical‐type experiences | 2020 | Narrative review | |
| Ecstasy research in the 20th century – an introduction | 2019 | Review | |
| Predictors and potentiators of psychedelic-occasioned mystical experiences | 2022 | Review |