The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy

A collection of essays challenges the dominant view that mystical experiences are entirely shaped by a person's prior beliefs and cultural context. Instead, the volume argues for the existence of a universal type of mystical experience called 'pure consciousness'—a state where a person remains aware but without thoughts, sensations, feelings, or any object of awareness. Part I presents evidence of such experiences reported across diverse traditions including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Part II examines the philosophical implications, concluding that no logical objections rule out the possibility of pure consciousness events.

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Abstract

This is a paperback reprint of a collection of contributed essays about mysticism and philosophy. It challenges the widely accepted interpretaion of mystical experience that received its fullest expression in two volumes edited by Steven T. Katz: Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis (OUP 1987) and Mysticism and Religious Traditions (OUP 1983). According to Katz and his colleagues, mystical experience, can be explained as the constructed and mediated product of previously held beliefs and concepts. On this view, there is no such thing as 'universal' mystical experience. The present volume attempts to show that there is a single type of mystical experience that cuts across cultural and linguistic lines. This is the experience of 'pure consciousnes,' a state in which the subject remains conscious but experiences neither thought, sensation, feeling, nor object of consciousness. Part I of the book demonstrates that there are well-attested reports of pure consciousness events occuring in a wide variety of ages and traditions, including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The essays in Part II consider the philosophical implications of these reports, arguing that there are no logical blocks to the claim of pure consciousness events.