Quietism, Agnosticism and Mysticism : Mapping the Philosophical Discourse of the East and the West

This book presents a unique collection of papers on various philosophical aspects of the unknown and unvoiced truth and reality of the cosmic world. It offers a systematic analysis of the three philosophical theories of Quietism, Agnosticism and Mysticism and introduces readers to the fundamentals of mystical knowledge claimed by philosophical schools of the east and the west. It discusses, debates and deliberates on philosophical issues concerning the acquisition of truth, its objectivity and its various dimensions along with the application of thoughts pertaining to Quietism, Agnosticism, and metaphysical-mystic traditions in philosophy. It examines and precisely defines the scope and limits of knowledge, the respective way of life, its expressions and morality, mystical revelation, ineffability of the ultimate, value realism, and faith and reason - with a primary focus on the classical Indian schools of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Agnosticism, the Bāuls, Greek traditions, modern western meta-philosophy, and contemporary quietist debate in religion and theology. This insightful collection should be of great interest to independent researchers, students and teachers of philosophy, theology, Mysticism and Agnosticism, cultural studies and religious studies. Preface 7 Acknowledgements 10 Contents 12 Editor and Contributors 14 Part I The Quietist Thinking 18 1 Philosophical Thinking: An Introduction 19 1 Part I. The Quietist Thinking 23 2 Part II. The Agnostic Mind 25 3 Part III. The Mystic’s World 28 References 32 2 What is Philosophical Quietism (Wittgensteinian and Otherwise)? 33 1 Introduction 34 2 The Wittgensteinian Roots of Quietism 35 3 Four Candidates for Quietism 37 4 Quietism and Scientific Theories in Philosophy 39 5 Philosophical Methodology with a Quietist Constraint 42 6 Conclusion 44 References 45 3 Silence as a Therapeutic Device: A Case for Śūnyavāda as Philosophical Quietism 48 1 Introduction 48 2 Śūnyavāda and the Question of Language 51 3 Śūnyavādin’s Critique of Pramāṇa System 56 4 Śūnyavādin’s Non-essentialism (Nisvabhāvatā) and Its Relation to Their Soteriology 59 5 Śūnyavādin’s No-Thesis Stance as Philosophical Quietism 63 References 66 4 Rationalistic Value Realism as a Religion Without God: An Option for Metaethical Quietism 67 1 Quietist Aspects of Contemporary Rationalistic Moral Realism 68 2 Dworkin’s Comprehensive Value Realism 70 3 Metaethical Cognitivism Without Metaphysics 73 4 Groundless Value Realism as a Religion Without God 77 5 Concluding Queries 81 References 85 5 Does the Ineffability of Brahman Lead to Quietism? Śaṅkara on the Indispensability of Language 87 1 Introduction 87 2 The Role of Scriptural Testimony 90 3 Four Mahāvākyas and Brahman 93 4 Advaitic Theory of Verbal Cognition and Knowledge 97 5 Brahman’s Ineffability and the Limitation of Language 100 6 Conclusion 101 References 102 Part II The Agnostic Mind 104 6 Sañjaya’s Ajñānavāda and Mahāvīra’s Anekāntavāda: From Agnosticism to Pluralism 105 1 Ancient Jaina Texts and the School of Ajñāna 106 2 Ancient Buddhist Texts and Sañjaya 110 3 Ajñānavāda and Syādavāda: Influence of the One Over the Other 111 4 Śaṅkara Critiques Anekāntavāda or Ajñānavāda? 116 5 Conclusion 118 References 119 7 Agnosticism, Atheism, and Naturalism’s Imaginaire: A Defense of God and Religion 121 1 Secularism and the West 121 2 Clifford and James 123 3 Science, Religion, and Secularism 124 4 Is Religion Socially Pernicious? 126 5 Pascal’s Real Challenge 129 6 Revisiting Aquinas 131 7 Conclusions 135 References 136 8 Mystical Theistic Ineffability and Agnosticism 138 1 Ineffability and Agnosticism 138 2 The Principle of Charity 139 3 The Internal Objection and the External Objection 140 4 Ineffability Defended 144 5 Functionalist Ascriptions 145 References 149 9 An Agnostic Deconstruction of Mysticism and the Philosophical Value of Its Truth Claims 151 1 Introduction 151 2 The Method of Deconstructionism 153 3 Zen Buddhism and Absolute Nothingness 155 4 Biosophy and Emotion 158 5 Kabbalah and Ein-Sof 160 6 The Final Analysis 163 7 Conclusion 165 References 165 Part III The Mystic’s World 166 10 Plotinus and Godlike Virtues 167 1 An Inconsistent Triad? 167 2 Aristotle on Mortal and Immortal Thinking 168 3 Which Gods? Which Virtues? 172 4 The God at the Center 174 5 A Concluding Remark 182 References 183 11 Connection Between Faith and Reason in Religious Mysticism 185 1 Introduction 185 2 Defining Faith 186 3 Relation Between Faith and Reason 191 4 Inclusivism, Exclusivism and Pluralism 196 5 Conclusion 201 References 202 12 Mysticism of Experience, Faith in Communication: Nietzsche and Kierkegaard 204 1 Introduction 204 2 Nietzsche: General Thought and Individual Experience 206 3 Kierkegaard: Objective Reason and Subjective Existence 210 4 Conclusion 220 References 221 13 Encoded Language as Mystical Revelation Among the Bāuls of West Bengal 222 1 Medieval Folk-Poets and Modern Bengali Bāul Minstrels 222 2 Buddhist Syncretic Heterodoxy 224 3 Coded Language 229 4 Ethnographic Exegesis 230 5 Concluding Reflections 233 References 233 14 The Cosmic World, the Mystical Mind and the Vedic Concept of Origination 235 1 Introduction 236 2 What is It to Be a Mystery? 239 3 Origination Versus Creation: Parallels Between Hindu Mysticism and Christian Mysticism 244 4 The Mystical Mind 250 5 A Concluding Remark 252 References 253 15 Concluding Questions 255 1 Quietism and the Limits of Language 257 2 Agnosticism and the Limits of Human Reason 260 3 Mysticism and the Known-Unknown Puzzle 263 Index 268