THE UNSAYABLE : Mystical Experience and Language
S. Vörös
2015
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mystical experience |
| Keywords | Linguistics |
| Key points | Argues that mystical utterances, unlike discursive ones, do not refer to mystical experience but embody and enact it, and that expressive forms ranging from silence and bodily act to paradox, negation, and scriptural metaphor can be assessed by two criteria: consistency with the nature of the experience and suggestiveness toward the recipient. The author proposes these criteria are inversely proportional, so that the more descriptive and suggestive a form, the less evocative and consistent it is and the more open to misinterpretation. |
Abstract
SAYING THE UNSAYABLE: MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE AND LANGUAGE The article considers whether, and to what extent, mystical experience, which is supposed to be transrational (non–dualist) and therefore ineffable, can be conveyed in language. The article consists of two parts. First, drawing on the Wittgensteinian distinction between “pointing” and “saying”, it is suggested that language not only speaks, but also acts. Mystical utterances are thus not on par with discursive utterances, in that they don’t refer to the mystical, but embody and enact it. Second, different means of expressing the inexpressible are outlined: from silence and bodily act, through evocative non–sense and paradox, to negation and scriptural metaphor. The expressive forms are analysed according to two mutually exclusive criteria, namely according to how consistent they are with the nature of the experience, and how suggestive their internal mechanisms are, i.e. how successful they are in approaching and addressing their recipient. It is suggested that the two criteria are inversely proportional to one another: the more descriptive and suggestive a given form, the less evocative and consistent it is and therefore open to grave misinterpretation.
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 |