Mystical Experience and Interpretation: The Problem of Difference and Unity in the Essentialist and Constructivist Theories of the Twentieth Century

The article examines how the term 'mysticism' carries polemical semantic weight, particularly in modern methodological debates about studying the 'mystical' as a subject of religious research. It contrasts two epistemological paradigms: the 'essentialist' view, which treats mysticism as a universal, core experience, and the 'constructivist' view, which sees it as culturally and linguistically shaped. The work argues that these competing frameworks create significant problems for religious scholarship, as the term itself is contested and laden with assumptions that influence how scholars define, approach, and interpret mystical phenomena.

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Abstract

The article raises the question of the "polemical semantic meaning" of the term "mysticism" and the problems associated with modern acute methodological discussions about the "mystical" as a subject of religious research within the framework of two epistemological paradigms - "essentialist" and "constructivist".