The Problem of Pure Consciousness Mysticism and Philosophy

by Forman, Robert K. C.

• ISBN13: 9780195059809
• ISBN10: 0195059808
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1990-03-29
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Are mystical experiences primarily formed by the mystic's cultural background and concepts, as modern day "constructivists" maintain, or do mystics in some way transcend language, belief, and culturally conditioned expectations? Do mystical experiences differ in the different religious traditions, as "pluralists" contend, or are they identical across cultures? Twelve contributors here attempt to answer these questions through close examination of a particular form of mystical experience, "Pure Consciousness"--the experience of being awake but devoid of intentional content for consciousness. The contributors analyze pure consciousness and other mystical experiences from historical Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Jewish sources, as well as from modern mystics. They demonstrate that pure consciousness poses serious conceptual problems for a contructivist understanding of mysticism. Revealing the inconsistencies and inadequacies of current models, they make significant strides towards developing new models for the phenomenon of mysticism, breaking new ground for our understanding of mysticism and of human experience in general.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Mysticism, Constructivism, and Forgetting	p. 3
The Empirical Investigation
The Unseen Seer and the Field: Consciousness in Samkhya and Yoga	p. 53
Pure Consciousness and Indian Buddhism	p. 71
Eckhart, Gezucken, and the Ground of the Soul	p. 98
Ayin: The Concept of Nothingness in Jewish Mysticism	p. 121
The Philosophical Investigation
Contemporary Epistemology and the Study of Mysticism	p. 163
Mysticism and Its Contexts	p. 211
Are Pure Consciousness Events Unmediated?	p. 220
Does the Philosophy of Mysticism Rest on a Mistake?	p. 237
On the Possibility of Pure Consciousness	p. 254
Is Mystical Experience Everywhere the Same?	p. 269
Experience and Interpretation in Mysticism	p. 288
Contributors	p. 305
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.