Atheistic Mysticism

An analysis of eleven detailed cases of atheistic mystical experience identifies five recurring themes: structural insight, wholeness, extremity, ego dissolution, and valuable connection. The author interprets these themes through the lens of atheistic Platonism. Structural insight and wholeness correspond to a relational power called membership that binds all things into the wholeness of nature, understood as the entire iterative hierarchy of classes. Mystical extremity arises because nature's wholeness is transcendental, possessing the absolute infinity of a proper class. During ego dissolution, the mystic brain drops all ontic encodings and encodes only the existential quantifier oriented toward the Good. Valuable connection shows that this relational power points from the One to the Good, and the atheistic mystic's body bears perfect witness to the Good.

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Abstract

Eleven detailed cases of atheistic mystical experience are examined. Five themes emerge from these cases: structural insight, wholeness, extremity, ego dissolution, and valuable connection. I will use atheistic Platonism to interpret these five themes. Structural insight and wholeness correspond to that singular relational power that binds all things together into the wholeness of nature. This power is membership, and nature is the entire iterative hierarchy of classes. Mystical extremity is explained by the fact that the wholeness of nature is transcendental—it has the absolute infinity of a proper class. During ego dissolution, the mystic brain drops all its ontic encodings. It encodes only the existential quantifier in its orientation toward the Good. Valuable connection reveals that the singular relational power points from the One to the Good. Aligning with this orientation, the body of the atheistic mystic bears perfect witness to the Good.