Mysticism (from the Greek word muo [to shut or close the lips or eyes]) is not a religion or a
philosophy; it has no connection to the occult; it is not mysterious. Its fount is the raw material of all
religions and the inspiration of philosophy and poetry, a consciousness of
something beyond the external world of material phenomena. In the words of
Evelyn Underhill: “In mysticism the will
is united with the emotions in an impassioned desire to transcend the
sense-world in order that the self may be joined by love in the one eternal and
ultimate Object of love; whose existence is intuitively perceived by the soul
[the cosmic or transcendent sense].”
In its pure form mysticism is the search for absolutes, union with the
Absolute, and the abolition of individuality.
In this s/dg we will compare and contrast the various forms of mysticism,
from the Hindus to psychedelic drug trips, and examine the question of its
logic. There will not be a core book. The
readings will be assembled in a packet of photocopied documents.
Week 1: What is Mysticism? (William James, "Mysticism"; W. T. Stace, "The Philosophy of Mysticism"
Week 2: Hindu and
Buddhist Mysticism (Upanishads; Heart Sutra)
Week 3. Plato,
Plotinus, and Christian Mysticism (Excerpts from Plato's dialogues; Plotinus, The Enneads (Book 6, Tractate 9); Dionysius the Areopagate; Meister Eckhart)
Week 4: Judaic and
Islamic Mysticism (Ezekiel, Zohar, Rumi, al-Ghazali)
Week 5: Mystical
Scientists (Albert Einstein, Arthur Eddington, Erwin Schroedinger)
Week 6: Poetic
Visions and Hallucinogenic Drugs (William Blake, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Aldous Huxley, Huston Smith, Michael Pollan)
Week 7: The Logic of Mysticism (Bertrand Russell, "Mysticism and Logic"; W. T. Stace, "Mysticism and Logic"