Mar
22
Mysticism and Metaphor
March 22, 2012 | by Armando | Tagged buddhism, christianity, Epistemology, hinduism, Metaphor, Mysticism, Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Religion, Stephen H. Phillips, zen | Leave a Comment
Hello again, philosophers!
I hope you all had a good Spring break, got to catch some SXSW action, and hopefully rested up a little bit. This Friday we conclude our unit on philosophy of religion with a paper by UT’s very own Stephen Phillips entitled Mysticism and Metaphor. In it, he considers whether the non-mystic is warranted in believing claims made by the mystic about her experiences of the divine. Phillips notes that the language by which most mystical experiences are conveyed poses unique challenges for most of us unenlightened pedestrians – but do those challenges preclude us from being able to form beliefs based on such claims? Phillips says no, but with an important qualification: warrant admits of degrees, and the non-mystic’s lack of access to the numinal understanding that the mystic claims to enjoy warrants his belief in mystical claims to a considerably low degree. Is Phillips right?
Next time you see one of those annoying soapbox preachers on campus, or if someone comes proselytizing at your door, ask yourself: how warranted am I in believing this person’s claims? Come join us this Friday at GAR 3.116 at 4:30 PM to see if Phillips’ paper can help to shed some light on that answer.
Peace,
Armando and Kyle, co-presidents
Please find the reading at: https://webspace.utexas.edu/aml2547/UPA/40019051.pdf