Forman R. K. C. (1990) Introduction: Mysticism, constructivism and forgetting. In: Forman R. K. C. (ed.) The problem of pure consciousness: Mysticism and philosophy. Oxford University Press, New York NY: 3–49.
Forman R. K. C.
(
1990)
Introduction: Mysticism, constructivism and forgetting.
In: Forman R. K. C. (ed.) The problem of pure consciousness: Mysticism and philosophy. Oxford University Press, New York NY: 3–49.
Excerpt: In conclusion, […] there are real limits t o the range of the constructivist thesis. For not all experiences are constructed. I will leave the reader with some of the broader philosophical questions which this book raises: Are there any other limits to the range of constructivism? How might we think about an experience which is not shaped or constructed by an experience? What are the marks of an unconstructed experience? Can you have an experience with some constructed and some unconstructed aspects? The question I hope to address in the next book I am editing is: If mystical phenomena are not caused by the imposition of language, then to what may we attribute them? Is there some sort of capacity within the human being to which we can point as the source? I f so, what sort of capacity might it be? Can we approach these experiences gradually by working with the ordinary world and language or do we suddenly and simply “turn on” this capacity? And finally, what is the relationship between these pure consciousness events and other perhaps more advanced-mystical phenomena?
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