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Spiritual Experience: Its Scope, Its Phenomenology, and Its Source

John Cottingham

New Blackfriars July 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1111/nbfr.12822 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Topics Philosophy of mind
Key points Argues that the source of religious experiences is best understood within a certain kind of theistic framework, after first surveying the scope of such experiences and describing their phenomenology, that is, how they present themselves to the conscious subject.

Abstract

Abstract: This paper looks first at the scope of religious experience, offering some representative examples of phenomena that typically give rise to spiritual experiences. This leads on a consideration of the phenomenology of such experiences – the particular way in which they present themselves to the conscious subject. Lastly, the paper tackles the vexed question of the source of such experiences, and suggests that this is best understood in terms of a (certain kind of) theistic framework.

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