Mystical Experience and Religious Doctrine: An Investigation of the Study of Mysticism in World Religions

Description

Since its founding by Jacques Waardenburg in 1971, Religion and Reason has been a leading forum for contributions on theories, theoretical issues and agendas related to the phenomenon and the study of religion. Topics include (among others) category formation, comparison, ethnophilosophy, hermeneutics, methodology, myth, phenomenology, philosophy of science, scientific atheism, structuralism, and theories of religion. From time to time the series publishes volumes that map the state of the art and the history of the discipline. Preface Introduction PART ONE: MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE AND ITS. INTERPRETATION: SOME CURRENT THEORIES 1. The Thesis of the Unity of all Religions: The Theory of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 2. The Varieties of Mystical Experience: The Theory of R. C. Zaehner 3. The Mystical, the Numinous, and Religious Traditions: The Theory of Ninian Smart 4. Extrovertive and Introvertive Mysticism: The Theory of W. T. Stace 5. The Mystical, the Numinous, and Metaphysics: The Theory of Rudolf Otto 6. A Comparative Analysis PART TWO: TOWARDS A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY OF MYSTICISM 7. Mystical Experience and its Interpretation: An Analysis of Possible Models 8. The Varieties of Mystical Experience: A Philosophical Prolegomenon 9. Conclusion Notes References