Implications and Consequences of Post-Modern Philosophy for Contemporary Transpersonal Studies II. Georges Bataille’s Post-Nietzschean Secular Mysticism, Phenomenology of Ecstatic States, and Original Transpersonal Sociology
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies July 1, 2013 DOI: 10.24972/ijts.2013.32.2.79 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism Philosophy of mind |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that Georges Bataille's writings offer a descriptive phenomenology of mystical and numinous states, a secular or this-worldly mysticism anticipated by Jung and Nietzsche, and an original Weber-influenced sociology and social psychology of transpersonal experience. The author also contends that Bataille's trauma and personal difficulties illustrate the distortive effects of spiritual metapathologies on inner development, and that his Nietzsche-influenced view of ecstatic states as an immanent human capacity can inform debates about the "truth value" of mystical states in contemporary transpersonal studies. |
Abstract
The writings of the French philosopher Georges Bataille offer their own contribution to the descriptive phenomenology of mystical and numinous states, as well as a version of the modern secular or this-worldly mysticism variously anticipated by Jung and Nietzsche, and a highly original sociology and social psychology of transpersonal experience, influenced by Max Weber, that helps to open an area not widely developed in recent studies.At the same time, the trauma and personal difficulties in Bataille's life serve as a stark example of the often distortive effects of spiritual metapathologies on inner development.Bataille's views of ecstatic states as entirely an immanent human capacity, in which he was greatly influenced by Nietzsche, offer an opportunity to address larger issues of the "truth value" of mystical states in contemporary transpersonal studies.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- “Dark Nights of the Soul”: Phenomenology and Neurocognition of Spiritual Suffering in Mysticism and Psychosis Review of General Psychology September 1, 2007
- Consciousness and Society: Societal Aspects and Implications of Transpersonal Psychology International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2010
- Creativity, Schizotypicality, and Mystical Experience: An Empirical Study July 1, 2013
- Implications and Consequences of Post-Modern Philosophy for Contemporary Perspectives on Transpersonal and Spiritual Experience I. The Later Foucault and Pierre Hadot on a Post-Socratic This-Worldly Mysticism 2013
- A collective unconscious reconsidered: Jung's archetypal imagination in the light of contemporary psychology and social science. Journal of Analytical Psychology February 1, 2012
and 1 more in the library