"Philosophical faith” and mystical experience: Convergence and divergence
Izvestiya of Saratov University. Philosophy. Psychology. Pedagogy December 15, 2022 Y. Duplinskya, V. A. Friauf
Mystical experience does not reveal a deep unity of religious traditions but instead represents a convergence at a specific evolutionary phase. Mysticism parallels the phenomenological phase of religion, focusing on the experience of consciousness, similar to philosophical phenomenology. This phase acts like an "energy minimum" toward which mystical traditions devolve and desacralize. After this phase, religious consciousness shifts from phenomenological Presence to eschatological Coming, where traditions diverge again. From an Orthodox ascetic perspective, philosophical faith as a phenomenological mysticism is insufficient because it only changes consciousness, whereas true Christian experience requires transformation of the whole human nature, including the flesh.