Given the plethora of research conducted in the field of spirituality and mysticism over the last 30 years, it is almost a superhuman feat to keep up with the explosion of information. Of necessity, in a limited article of this nature, it is possible to discuss only a few salient aspects of the spirituality and mysticism phenomenon and by so doing contribute to ongoing research in this important domain. Contemporary spiritualties encompass the whole range of human experience and new variants (...) are emerging; for example, the relatively recent Contemplative Studies, a cognate and close companion to Spirituality. Crossing inter-religious boundaries enhances studies in Mysticism; natural mysticism is clearly in the foreground; and breaking research in neurotheology sheds light on the nature of the ‘mystical mind’. Discussion of the value or otherwise of techniques and methods of the mystical journey continues unabated. Of great value for today’s frenetic, Internet-crazy world is the path of mystical silence. By contributing to a discussion of these issues, it is hoped that the threads of spirituality and mysticism will continue to share their colour in a world desperate for beauty and peace. (shrink)

This paper is concerned with the nature of mystical knowledge in the higher stages of mystical realization, with particular reference to the teachings of St John of the Cross. Correspondences and parallels with the writings of other mystics may be noticed, but it is not the purpose of this discussion to elucidate these in detail.

A closely argued book about what the negative tradition in Western theology involves.

Discourse on Thinking questions that must occur to us the moment we manage to see a familiar situation in unfamiliar light.

A considerable part of mystical literature deals with, or reports on, experiences that are of a cognitive and not merely of an emotive nature. Information is alleged to have been received not only from higher spheres but also about these higher spheres. Detailed, and at times highly complex, theories are put forward regarding the nature and evolution of the cosmos, the essence of man and his place and function in the scheme of things. The writings of many mystics reveal mysteries (...) that have been infused from above, or apprehended ‘from below’ by the development and use of special spiritual or mental organs. What all these higher insights have in common in spite of their great diversity, is their discursive, objective and detailed, elaborate character. Mysticism of this type is a kind of supernal science. It is distinct from ordinary science as regards its origin and its emotional charge, but it is similar to science in terms of its formal structure. The Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah is, I think, an instructive example of this discursive tendency, for the literary output of the kabbalists very largely substitutes a theosophical dialectic for the traditional legal dialectic of the Talmudic rabbis. In the case of the kabbalists this tendency was indebted to the medieval identification of mysticism and prophecy: like prophecy, every illumination by the Holy Spirit was supposed to be a matter of ‘clear and distinct’ contents. But, of course, not every form of cognitive mysticism is related to doctrines of prophecy. Cognitive mysticism can be found everywhere, in the revelation of gnostic mysteries as well as in the quest of modern ‘spiritual’ sciences, such as theosophy and anthroposophy, for hidden and occult truths. (shrink)

Philosophical interest in mysticism is often limited to the question of whether mystic states can support a convincing argument for the existence of God, and many authors defend a negative answer by appealing to certain conventional generalizations about the character of such experiences. In this dissertation I develop an alternative approach, by starting with a detailed analysis of one major mystic, Saint John of the Cross , and using the results in a "retroductive" or "explanatory" inference to the conclusion that (...) it is reasonable to regard contemplative consciousness as a cognitive mode of experience. Chapter One presents background information on John's life, writings, intellectual milieu, and influence. The second chapter examines his notion of the structure of the human person, and challenges the common view that the Sanjuanist mysticism is fundamentally anti-cognitive. In Chapter Three I outline his teaching on the stages of spiritual development, the range of contemplative experiences associated with each, and their close connection with psychological and moral maturation. Chapter Four organizes these findings into a partial list of facts to be accounted for in any "argument to the best explanation" of the mystical data, and challenges some popular theories about the "common features" of introvertive mystical states, especially those of James and Stace, maintaining instead that many of these experiences are truly theistic in their implications. In the fifth chapter I show that a "retroductive" defense of mysticism cannot be ruled out in advance, since the traditional philosophical objections to contemplative consciousness as a "way of knowing" do not conclusively disprove its cognitivity. In Chapter Six I describe the explanatory mode of inference and apply it to mystical phenomena, comparing the explanatory power of the hypothesis that contemplation is a cognitive mode of experience ) with various reductive accounts of mysticism; here I maintain that, given certain justified convictions about the mystical data, H provides as good an explanation of them as any alternative hypothesis it is reasonable to consider, and therefore that it is reasonable to accept H, and perhaps even to believe that contemplation involves awareness of God. Chapter Seven summarizes my conclusions. (shrink)