Mysticism and Its Contexts
The Problem of Pure Consciousness March 29, 1990 Philip C Almond 9 citations
This essay argues that philosophical analysis of mysticism can avoid the two opposing positions of mystical essentialism and mystical relativism. The author contends that recognizing the context-dependent nature of all mystical experience is compatible with both experiential novelty and the occurrence of what Ninian Smart calls the experience of consciousness-purity. The work demonstrates that it is possible to formulate a methodology that steers between these extremes, suggesting that neither position is necessary for understanding mystical experiences.