Greetings,
Rich (ignoring the sarcasm): Mysticism is best described using the Wittgensteinian
notion of family
resemblances rather than a discrete definition. As such we can say that it is
characterised by:
1) A belief in a world of reality different to that which manifests itself to the
natural senses.
2) A belief in the unity of all things.
3) A denial of the reality of time.
4) A denial of the reality of evil
5) A belief in the value of intuition over reason.
A mystic is one who subscribes to the above and a mystical practice is one which
attempts to promote
any of the above.
Note that I am not claiming that this is a discrete and absolute definition - such
things do not
exist for this kind of term. Also note that I am not claiming that all mysticism
adheres to all
these points. The notion of family resemblances is vital here.
When used on this forum, the term mystic has generally been applied to anything that
the user
misunderstands or wants to hold as 'sacred.' This is not mysticism, rather it is an
excuse for not
being able (or willing) to apply reason to intuition. The claim that this cannot be
done descends
(inevitably) into relativism and thus has no place in the MoQ.
Clear and concise enough?
Struan
------------------------------------------
Struan Hellier
< mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
"All our best activities involve desires which are disciplined and
purified in the process."
(Iris Murdoch)
MOQ Online Homepage - http://www.moq.org
Mail Archive - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
Unsubscribe - http://www.moq.org/md/index.html
MD Queries - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
