Alternative Epistemological Perspectives in the Study of Mysticism, With Particular Reference to the Cloud of Unknowing and the Via Negativa".
The phenomena of the "Via Negativa" and "negative formulation" of mysticism in various cultural contexts provides a unique problem for the philosophy of religion and for philosophy in general.
The Via Negativa or “Negative Way” is a description of a mystical experience that is apparently worldwide in distribution
for a brief description of the "scope" of the occurrence of this "mystical experience" I referred to "The Problem of Pure Consciousness” Ed. Robert K.C. Forman, and also my remarks on the Maya materials described above.. The “language” used to describe the state is consistently “negative” it uses terms like “nothingness”, “Unknowing”, Void and so on
it might of course be argued that in spite of the "apparent similarities" of description in different cultures, different mystical states are actually being described, as these states are mediated by the different cultures in which they occur. This position which is technically called "constructivism" has been sufficiently reputed in the "collection" The Problem of Pure Consciousness (op.cit.)..
In the Christian tradition the "Via Negativa" is represented by the "tradition of Pseudo-Dionysus. In the English tradition this "methodology" is exemplified in the anonymous Middle English text "The Cloud of Unknowing".
There are two "classes of problem". The first issue is whether it makes "logical" sense to speak of an "experience of nothingness". Is it even logically consistent to "speak in such a manner. This is an epistemological problem
I use the word "epistemological" in a broad sense in this study because I am using a number of "alternative epistemological schema" at least some of which would include "logic" as part of epistemology. See my remarks on this subject below.which I do not believe has been satisfactorily dealt with in contemporary religious and philosophical studies. The second issue is whether the epistemologies that I am considering accurately reflect the phenomenology of the Via Negativa.
I suggest that one of the difficulties that have been experienced in this area is that the right "epistemological tools" have not been applied to the problem. I propose to investigate some "alternative epistemologies" which I believe are relevant to the study of the "Via Negativa" that is implicit in The Cloud of Unknowing" and many other mystical texts and traditions. To this end I intend to investigate threedifferent "epistemological models".
I wish to emphasise that I do not intend to "choose between" the different epistemological models dealt with in this study. It will be sufficient for my purpose if I can demonstrate the "coherence" and "heuristic utility" of the different epistemological methods considered below, in so far as they "throw light" on the "philosophical issues" involved in the Via Negativa.
I will deal with the epistemological issues here as if I can demonstrate the "utility" of some "alternative" epistemological tools to the understanding and elucidation of such states then the discussion of their "ontological status" will be materially strengthened. I will deal with ontological issues in this study only insofar as they tend to support the “universality” of the mystical states being described.
It is possible I contend that each of the epistemological approaches that I discuss below is able to provide a coherent "model" of "different aspects" of the same mystical experience.
The "analogy" that I wish to invoke here for my "methodology" is that of a map. Let us consider the case of a number of "maps" of the "area" of a house. It is possible in this instance to produce a number of distinctly different "maps" of the same territory. For example it would be possible to produce a mineral logical map, a topographical map, a "scale map of the interior of the house", a map of the house in relation to the street, an "electrical map" and a "water map" amongst others.
While each of these "maps" is "theoretically" translatable" into the other, they are nevertheless not "identical". Furthermore none of them (and no possible combination of them) is (or can be) a "complete" representation of the "territory". It is however important to note that the "territory" that they are mapping is an "ontologically real territory.
One can only speak of "translation" of one map into another because the "maps" are not identical (in spite of the fact that they “represent the same Territory) it is necessary to "superimpose" rather than simply "translate" one map into another if we are not to "lose information". However the "superimposition" of multiple maps one upon the other may make the "resultant map" impossible to interpret because of its complexity. We may therefore regard the "different maps" as "heruristic tools" to "throw light" upon different aspects of the same ontological reality.
A. "map" is of course simply a variety of "model" and everything that I have stated above about maps also applies to any sort of "model" (of an ontological reality) whether it be graphic mathematical or of any other kind.
This "approach" needs to be distinguished to some extent from Wittgenstein's concept of "language games"
see for example the excellent summary of "language games" in Be Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy" Thomas Matner editor Penguin at London's 2005P 339.. The reason for this distinction is that Wittgenstein's "language games" do not of necessity presuppose an "ontologically real status" for the things to which the "language games" spply, whereas the concept of a "map or model" (as I am using it here) does involve such a presupposition.
The Phenomonological
It should be clearly understood that in using the term "phenomenological" in this study I am not using the term in the "narrow" sense of the philosophy propounded by Husserl. There are in fact several varieties of phenomenology in contemporary philosophy, for our purposes in this study it will be necessary to consider particularly the phenomenology of Goethe from which the epistemology of Rudolf Steiner (and other contemporary philosophers) derives. Unity of the Via Negativa.
It is my contention that there is a "single state of consciousness" underlying the "reports" of the Via Negativa. This "state" has been characterised as "pure consciousness", and it was the subject of a famous "philosophical debate" in the closing decade of the 20th century CE. In an anthology of essays edited by Robert K. C. Foreman cogent arguments are made for the "existence" of such a "state of consciousness". The authors document a number of "disparate" cultures and "physiological states" that seemed to "correspond" to a "negative conception" of a specific kind of mystical state. The authors of the collection also deal with be epistemological issues surrounding the "conception" of such a state
See The Problem of Pure conscousness op.cit. .
There are in my opinion several "issues" with the thesis of a "state of pure consciousness" as proposed by the authors of this compilation the issues lie not I suggest in the "existence" of such a state, but rather in the "description" of the state from an epistemological viewpoint.
Donald Rothburg in his essay "Contemporary Epistemology and the Study of Mysticism"
Ibid. Pp, 163-121. effectively "counters" the "constructivist" hypothesis that "all mystical states must be "mediated". However the major epistemological difficulty with this compilation as I see it is that it avoids the phenomenological and ontological issue by simply "relabelling" the "state" by describing it as "pure consciousness" rather than "nothingness" that is automatically presupposing be "ontological status" of the phenomenological experience. An adequate epistemological treatment of the subject must explain these "discrepancies" and "similarities", as they are part of the common phenomenological experience of the mystic.
In terms of the "phenomenology" of the experience we need to explain why on the one hand the "state" is described as "nothingness", and on the other hand (and often within the same tradition) the same "state" is often described as "infinity", or as "pure being".
A good example of this "multiple designation" is to be found in the Hebrew Kabbalistic tradition where the "state beyond manifestation is described by three terms Ain zya (nothingness) [ws zya Ain Soph (beyond limits that is to say infinity) and Ain Soph Aur rwa [ws zya (limitless light)
See for Example the excellent summery in ” The Eastern Mysteries” by David Allen Hulse Llewellyn Worrldwide Woodbury MN. USA. 2008 Pp.121-122, which also discusses other aspects of Kabbalistic exegesis such as Gematria in relation to the Kabbalistic conception.. It should be noted in this regard however that the word "nothingness" zya (Ain) has a secondary meaning of "fountain" in Aramaic
Strictly speaking there is a pun between the Hebrew Ain "nothingness" and the Aramaic (and dialectical the group) Ayn "bring or well) period for a discussion of the "fullness of the bullied" (although without an understanding of the Palm involved CAin: the concept of nothingness in cherished mysticism by Daniel C. Mat in The Problem of Pure Consciousness (op. cit.)Pp.. 121-162 and particularly the discussion on page 128-129. . This refers to the "existential experience" of the "pregnant nothingness" which I shall discuss in more detail below.
The Hebrew example given above also indicates a hitherto unrecognized difficulty with the designation of the "state" of the Via Negativa as a "state of pure consciousness" if by that we mean some sort of "unity". The fact that the Hebrew tradition is able to simultaneously speak of "a negative state" and also to designate three "different" experiences with in that state raise important epistemological issues.
There is a considerable amount of phenomenological unity between the Hebrew Kabbalistic tradition and that of the Cloud of Unknowing. This is in spite of the fact that the author of the "Cloud" does not at first reading show evidence of the acquaintance with the Kabbalistic or Rabbinic tradition.
For example the concept of a "Cloud of Darkness
you will find only a darkness, and as it were a cloud of unknowing---,, this darkness and this cloud are between you and your God, … And so prepare to remain in this darkness as long as you can, always begging for.him you love; for if you are ever to feel or see him, so far as is possible in this life, it must always be in this cloud and this darkness. And if you are willing to labour eagerly as I tell you, I trust in his mercy that you will reach your goal….Cloud chapter 3 …I call it a darkness or a cloud, … a cloud of unknowing that is between you and your God. Chapter 4 …in this darkness and in this cloud of unknowing.chapter8…. you are dwelling in this darkness, and that nothing is in your mind but God alone,chapter 9 which contains the "presence of God" is common to both traditions
Although the "classical location" for this conception is in Deuteronomy 5:23-26 we find various "commentaries" that rely upon this passage in both Jewish and Christian traditions. Thus for example in chapter 9 of the Cloud of Unknowing the concepts of a "cloud", darkness and "array of light" are juxtaposed. In a similar fashion in Lauranic Kabbalah we find the juxtaposition of "spherical darkness" light, "nothingness" and the creation. See in this regard the discussions of Tzimtzum in "The Secret Doctrine of the Kabbalah" by Leonora Leet, Pp. 15, 19, 63, 45-46, 50, 277, 288, 383, 385-409, 414n. as is the concept of "a Ray of light" that is the presence of God shining in the darkness
, I say that it must always be good in its own nature, because it is a ray of God's likeness. But the use to which it is put may be either good or evil: good, .
The common conceptions mentioned above can of course be partly explained simply on the basis of a "common heritage" of sacred texts. However there are some aspects of the "common conceptions" that cannot be understood on this basis. For example the mere fact that the account of the revelation at Sinai is described in terms of "a dark cloud" containing the presence of God" does not automatically link the passage to the idea of "contemplative mental activity" the Hebrew Rabbinical tradition however does make such a connection based upon the Hebrew Masoretic text. However the Hebrew text is the only "version" of this passage in which the analogy can be made
the Hebrew text of Deuteronomy 5:24 is ambiguous and can be read in Hebrew as though the "voice" is "seen". The rabbinic tradition understood this ambiguity as pointing to a synaesthesia in which the voice was literally seen. Since such synaesthesia states were characteristic of various "meditative phenomena" rabbinic tradition connected Deuteronomy 5:23-26 with "altered states of consciousness".. It is extremely unlikely that the "Cloud" author knew either the Masoretic text or rabbinic tradition and this "connection" could not have been derived from any scriptural translation known to the "Cloud" author.
There are further important connections between the Kabbalistic traditions and the "Cloud of Unknowing"
The Cloud parallels to this material are primarily in chapter 38 which directly quotes the Ephesians passage mentioned below. The Cloud author also discusses "spiritual depth" elsewhere in the text but nowhere with the association of the other "ddimentions" of length, breadth, length and so on.. There is a direct connection between the Sepher Yetzerah
See in this respect the edition of the Sepher Yetzerah of Aryeh Kaplan Wiser/Red Wheel 1997 C.E. York beech ME USA. Se[her Yetzerah 1:5; (Pp.44-51). Kaplan also gives several other manuscripts in his appendix in which the first number and exact translation vary period however I will rely upon the version of the Aramaic text given at the location cited. (one of the earliest Kabbalistic documents) a passage in the Clementine Homily (XXVII: VI-X)
See the version quoted in "The Apostolic Gnosis (II)" by Simcox Lea and Bligh Bond R.I.L.K.O .Books Orpington Kent U.K. 1985 Pp. 106-120. and a New Testament passage
Ephesians 3:17-19. A ll three of hese verses contain parallels to the Yitzerah passage, however verse 19 is of particular I m portance in this context in that it refers to a state that "passes" or transcendence knowledge, a parallel which was important to the author of me Cloud of Unknowing, as well as being relevant to our discussion. all of which connect the idea of the "directions of space" with the "nature of God. However it is only the text of the Sepher Yetzerah that explicitly connects this conception with "the void". Whereas the New Testament and Clementine passages do not make this connection.
Another important point concerning the passages that I am discussing here is the observation that while the author of the "Cloud" relates the "ultimate state" to "nothingness"
The main reference to the state of consciousness being discussed in The Cloud of Unknowing years in chapters 69 Your feelings will vary extraordinarily as the spiritual experience of this nothing is undergone nowhere. 70. So labour hard in this nothing and this nowhere, and leave behind your outward bodily sences and all that they work on at the same time there is recognized a "distinction" between different "spiritual dimensions" which on the one hand are "distinguishable", and on the other hand constitutes "a unity". Once again such a conception precludes a "simplistic" or "unitary" description of the phenomenology of the state being described.
There is yet another connection between the material in the "Cloud" and the Kabbalistic tradition. The author of the "Cloud" refers to a number of different "meditation techniques" that are also found in Kabbalistic sources as interpretations of parts of the Masoretic text.
The Kabbalistic sources delineate a number of "meditation techniques" that are also found in the "Cloud". In the Kabbalistic tradition these are designated as follows:
(1). Internal isolation Hitbodedut (tddwbth)
See "Meditation and the Bible" by Aryeh Kaplan Wiser Mane USA 1989 CE Pp. 2, 5, 9, 10 10 ff,61, 65, 70,72,80,88,102-103,105,111,131,138,145,148f,155. this corresponds to the "isolation" from sensory data found in the "Cloud".
Cloud Chapter 63. This is why reason and will are called principal faculties, because they work in your spirit, without any kind of bodilyness
(2). Floating Distraction Suach (jwc)
Kaplan Meditation op.cit, Pp.119-123. this corresponds to the "process" of "pushing down" mundane thoughts into the "cloud of forgetfulness".
Cloud chapters 7, And if any thought rises up and keeps on wanting to force itself above you, between you and that darkness 8., I wonder greatly why you tell me to push it down away from me, so far below the cloud of forgetting.'9And so the sharp stirring of your understanding, which keeps on thrusting itself on you when you apply yourself, to this blind work of contemplation, must always be forced down; and unless you force it down, it will force you down ,32 There is another technique: try it if you please. When you feel that you are quite unable to push them [thoughts] down.
(3). Directed Being Hagah (hgh)
Kaplan Meditation op.cit, Pp.111-118. this corresponds to the "technique" of "directng ones being through the "Cloud of Unknowing" towards God.
Cloud Chapters 7 tread the thought down firmly with a stirring of love, even instances of God's kindness ,8, to push it down away from me 12, beat continually upon this cloud of unknowing `14 a secret thrust of love, directed in purity of spirit at this dark cloud of unknowing between you and your God, 34 Press on then,
(4). Blind Rapture shasha (ucac) in the Kabbalistic tradition this word stands for a kind of meditation associated with darkness (blindness) indifference to sensory data and "rapture".
Kaplan Meditation op.cit, Pp.125-129, This juxtaposition of experience is also found in the "Cloud".
Cloud Chapters 2, For the first time you do it, you will find only a darkness; this darkness and this cloud are between you and your God,,4 And so prepare to remain in this darkness --always be in this cloud and this darkness---Do not suppose, because I call it a darkness ---you can imagine such a darkness----when I say 'darkness' I mean an absence of knowing, 6 pierce that darkness above you,7 thought rises up and keeps on wanting to force itself above you, between you and that darkness--- the darkness above you.—8 entirely in this darkness 9 you are dwelling in this darkness, and that nothing is in your mind but God alone--- mind not engaged in this darkness,15 this dark cloud of unknowing , 25 dark cloud of unknowing,,24 thrust of love when it is beating upon the dark cloud of unknowing.
(5), The Kabbalistic tradition also recognizes the use of "mantra" meditation (specifically involving both repetition of the name of God and repetition of "mantras" of a single syllable only)
Kaplan Meditation op.cit, Pp. 141,64,112,115. which directly parallels the techniques in the Cloud
Cloud Chapters,37 just a short word of one syllable, that seems to me better than one of two syllables, and more in accordance with the work of the spirit ,38 And why does it pierce heaven, this short little prayer of one little syllable? 39 we should pray in --- spirit; and that not in many words, but in a word of one syllable.--- no more words, than the word GOD. Though brevity of prayer is highly recommended here, that does not mean that frequency of prayer is to be avoided..
Finally in the Kabbalistic tradition there is an explicit connection between "meditation methods" and the Ark of the Covenant
Kaplan Meditation op.cit, Pp.57ff,65,169. which is also found in the "Cloud".
Cloud Chapters 71 For the grace of contemplation is symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Law,73 There were three men who were predominantly concerned with the ark of the Old Testament: Moses, Beseleel, and Aaron. Moses learned from our Lord on the mount how it should be made; Beseleel shaped and made it in the valley, according to the pattern that was revealed on the mount; and Aaron had it under his guardianship in the temple, to touch and see it as often as he pleased.
Similarly to these three, we benefit by the grace of contemplation in three ways. Sometimes we benefit only by grace, and then we are comparable to Moses, who, for all the climbing and the effort that were his on the mount, could get to see it only seldom; and the sight was granted only through the revelation of our Lord when it pleased him to reveal it, and not because he had earned it by his effort. Sometimes we benefit from this grace through our own spiritual skill, aided by grace, and then we are comparable to Beseleel, who could not see the ark until he had made it by his own effort, aided by the pattern that was revealed to Moses on the mount. And sometimes we benefit from this grace through the teaching of others, and then we are comparable to Aaron, who had it in his guardianship, and was accustomed when he pleased to see and touch the ark, which Beseleel had previously shaped and made ready to his hands.
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There are a number of possible explanations for these "parallels". Firstly it could be suggested that the author of the "Cloud" was conversant with rabbanic tradition, and was possibly a converted Jew. I consider this unlikely for several reasons:
(1). Considering the time and place of the composition of the "Cloud" a "direct" Jewish influence is highly unlikely.
(2). Much of the Kabbalistic material mentioned above can only be documented for a period after the composition of the "Cloud".
It is a much more plausible hypothesis to assume that these similarities arise from a "common heritage" between the Jewish and Christian mystical traditions. Such a conclusion however is overly simplistic if we examine it purely in terms of "literary convention and transmission". The reason for caution in this respect is that most of the "techniques" and "exegesis" of the Kabbalistic tradition apears to be "post-hoc" explanation derived from the phenomenology of the experience.
This is clear from the fact that most of the Kabbalistic exegesis of the Masoretic text discussed here is "non-normative" translation. Other examples of non-normative translations relative to our subject are Exodus 13:14 and Exodus 30;15 where Nothing is taken to be a name of God and Duteronomy 4;11 where both darkness and cloud are understood as names of God. See “Qabalah The Mystucal Heratage of the Children of Abraham” Daniel Hale Feldman Work of the Chariot California USA 2001 CE Pp.223-227.
For the reasons given above I believe that the best explanation of the parallels between the Jewish and Christian "emptiness" contemplative techniques and experiences are the result of a common phenomenology" of the practice itself.
It should also be noted that it is not only the Hebrew and Christian traditions that discerns a "multiplicity" within the "negative experience". For example the Buddhist Heart Sutra (Prajna Paramitta)
I use the translation of the Sutra Translation Committee of the US and Canada Newyork USA 1995. States "... Form does not differ from the void, and the void does not differ from form .Form is void and void is form". There is then a discussion of the voidness of form in terms of "... the voidness of all dhamas are not arising, non ceasing, non defiled, non pure non increasing and non decreasing”. The import here seems to be that the "opposite states" are "simultaneously" contained in the void as indicated by the word and. Also the "inclusive language (Failure to use exclusive language such as neither nor and so on). On the other hand much of the rest of the language of the Sutra strongly implies a "duaity" of the experience. There is also a further parallel in this Buddhist Sutra to the "Cloud of Unknowing"
Cloud Chapter 32 When you feel that you are quite unable to push them down, cower down before them like a wretched coward overcome in battle, and think that it is foolish for you to strive against them any longer, and therefore, in the hands of your enemies, you surrender yourself to God. Feel as if you were defeated for ever. the Sutra states".. There is no wisdom and there is no attainment whatsoever because there is nothing to be attained"
The sentence can also be understood as referring to nothing as a “state”to be achieved.see my comments on Nothing in the Cloud above..This statement is not however merely a nihilistic denial of Buddhist principles but rather it is a purported "ontological statement" concerning the "true nature" of reality.
However there is more to this statement than is immediately obvious. A Buddhist using this sutra for meditation purposes is trying to attain to wisdom by "achieving a state" in which "attainment" does not exist! The meditator can therefore be said to be simultaneously attempting to "achieve and not achieve the goal. This "existential (and contradictory) state can also be found in the "Cloud of Unknowing" when the contemplative is simultaneously urged to "desire union with God" and simultaneously to "reject" such desire.
It is important to note in consideration of this contradiction that it is experienced "simultaneously" and "explained" only after the experience. The original experience is inherently "logically contradictory".
If as I have suggested above there is a "common unified phenomenology" of the "Via Negativa ”then we would expect elements of the same phenomenology to occur in cultures that are radically different from the European and Asian examples that I have cited above, such a culture does in fact exist,it is the culture of the Maya of Mexico.
In the Mayan tradition "Zero" is not simply "a negation" but it is also a beginning of a new cycle. It is the origin of all material things exists beyond time and is a divine being, it is associated with life and fullness, it is a "gateway to a higher level of existence and it transcends time it is also associated with a dying and rising God who was sacrificed. It is also associated with renewal, completion, and the beginning of a new cycle as well as with the "contradictory" concepts of "speech" and "silence" all of t
For a compilation of material sources see The Hidden Mayaby martin Brennan Bear and Company New Mexico1998. Pp.20, 96,104,108,113.hese phenomenological features are alluded to in the "Cloud".
In the Mayan tradition the "Zero State" is associated with specific body postures one Example is the state of the "eyes turned up to heaven”
See Extatic Trance by Dr Felicitas Goodman and Nana Naiwald. Binkey Kok publications Havelte/Holand. Pp.85-86,156. which is mentioned by (and condemned by) the author of the "Cloud". However while Seethe "state of contemplation" it is nevertheless admitted that the "position" may arise spontaneously from the "experience" of the Vja Negeyativa.
The Maya tradition also utilizes various body postures to "induce" certain types of religious altered states of consciousness (RASC) including a direct experience of "nothingness", a similar methodology was obviously known to the author of the "Cloud", who condemns it as "inappropriate"..
It would seem from the descriptions given above that the "negative state" can best be described as simultaneously a multiplicity and a unity.
The "mystical state" described in "negative terms" is apparently "universal" in human culture. Apart from the examples noted by the authors of "The Problem Maya traditions. Recent evidence has also come to light suggesting that this "experience" is part of the ancient "Shamanic" heritage of "religious altered states of consciousness" (RASC)
Ibid..
Introduction to the Epistemological Issues.
The major issues that any attempt at formulating an "alternative epistemology" must face is the assertion by Immanuel Kant. Kant takes the position that it is impossible to "know reality" (noumena) in its self but only to know phenomena, and that all "knowledge" is “filtered” through "sensory data" and also through "pre- existing mental filters" which include the concepts of space and time..
Such a position raises obvious difficulties for any attempt to understand the phenomenology of the Via Negativa and the Cloud of Unknowing. The difficulties arise with this "mystical experience" since the experience is claimed to be "sence free", transcending space and time and beginning rise to "real knowledge".
Of the three epistemological approaches that I discuss in this study each takes a different approach to the epistemological issues outlined above.
The approach of Cooper and the use of L3 (triadic logic) as a heuristic device is perfectly compatible with Kant's epistemology since it introduces a a "third term" (Unknowable) in to the logical system. This is compatible with an idea of the "unknowable quality" of certain aspects of reality.
The approach of Steiner on the other hand is explicitly "anti-Kantian" he denies the basic premises of Kant's epistemology and constructs his own epistemology on completely different grounds from that of Kant. As a result Stiner affirms the "reality" of non-sensory (and non-temporal) knowledge.
The approach of Ouspensky is from a different perspective he concieves "mystical knowledge" as a "separate category" of knowledge to which special logical rules (transfinite logic) need to be applied. For this reason he can consistently hold that Kant's perspective is valid for "ordinary states of consciousness" but not for "mystical states of consciousness".
Multi Valued Logic.
If we take the phenomenology outlined above seriously, then a number of issues arise. One of these is whether there is any way of "modeling" a situation in which there is an "unknowable" term as part of the "logical construct".
Before examining this question in more detail it is necessary first to consider what is meant by "unknowable" in this context. It is obvious in relation to texts of the the Via Negetiva in general and the "Cloud of Unknowing" in particular, that from the viewpoint of the authors "unknowable" does not mean incoherent or unintelligible, since if this were the case there would be no purpose in compiling literature on the subject!
What then is ment by "unknowing" or "nothingness" in this context? It seems clear that what is being referred to is an a priori experience of a specific "state of consciousness" that is later interpreted (a posteri) from the "cultural perspective" of the authors. However the "act of interpretation in a cultural context" or even in a multitude of cultural contexts does not necessarily mean that the description is incoherent. This is particularly the case when (as I have demonstrated above) there is a consistent "cross-cultural phenomenology" involved in the experience. I shall discuss below the "possibility" of "existentially experiencing" mathematical equations as a "living reality", but I must defer this argument to a later place in this study.
Indeed it may be possible taking into account some salient features of the phenomenology along with some "alternative epistemological methodologies" to gain some new insights into the experience.
In order to understand the discussion in the section below it is firstly necessary to discuss by way of introduction of the concept of “many valued logics”. There is a whole field of symbolic logic concerned with the subject of logics having a “truth value” greater than two (that is to say that there are more terms than simply “true” and “false” in the logical system). There are several useful introductions to the subject of “many valued logics” the best two of which are in the opinion of this author the introduction by Akerman
Ackermann R. 1997 Introduction to Many Valued Logics London Routeledge and Kegan Paul. to the entire field, and also the comprehensive text by Zinov’ev
Zinov’ev, A. 1963. Philophial Problems of Many Valued Logic Dordrecht; Reidel.
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While there are many different forms of “multi valued Logic” the form that I shall discuss here is designated L3 because it has three “truth values” rather than two. Because L3 is a “formal system” the “third term” may vary according to the usage of different authors. It is of course possible because we are dealing with a formal system to formulate “truth tables” and sets of axioms for any proposed logical system.
I will discuss the “history” of the application of L3 to the religious questions and its utility for the “modelling” of the Via Negativa below.
The first "alternative epistemology"
I have already outlined my reasons for including "logical systems" within the context of epistemology above. that I shall consjder in this study is that of "Multi-Valued Logics". The utility of multivalued logics (specifically L3) for the elucidation of "religious" thought has been argued by D.E. Cooper in an important article in 1975
Cooper D.E. Alternative Logic and "Primitive Thought", Man (1975.. In this article Cooper argues that L 3 "successfully models and resolves a series of problems concerning African religious thought. Cooper contends that there are a number of "apparent contradictions" in African religious thought when examined from the viewpoint of L2 (Standard Logic) that immediately resolved themselves when viewed from the perspective of L3.
The essence of the utility of L3 from the viewpoint of the elucidation of the Via Negativa is the fact that it has "three truth values". Cooper gives the example (derived from African religion) of True, False, and Undecidable. One of the characteristics of the "formulation" of the experience of the Via Negativa is the claim that the "experience" is "beyond rknowledge"
this claim is so pervasive through out the text of the Cloud that I did not provide here all of the references, however it should be clear that this understanding is of paramount importance because of the title of the text "The Cloud of Unknowing".. This amounts to a claim that there is a "category of experience" that is beyond "rational" elucidation.
Cooper in his article seeks to distinguish between "undecidable" and "unknowable". This is a legitimate distinction for the cases that Cooper considers. Since the phenomenology of the via negativa if we take it seriously implies the existence of an "unknowable" state, we must consider the meaning of the term "unknowable" in this context and consider whether or not the use of this term makes Cooper's methodology inapplicable.
It should be noted from a purely formal viewpoint that although L3 was first formulated in relation to "undecidable" propositions
By Putham in two articles Putham H. 1957 Three Valued Logic Philosophical Studies 8 and Putham H. 1969 Is Logic Impirical? Studies in the philosophy of Science. By "first formulated" here I do not mean to imply that Putham's was the first formulated of a "triadic" logic (since there is an implicit evidence for the formulation of such a Logic in mediaeval times), but merely that his where the articles relied upon by Cooper., any "term" (including unknowable) may be the "third value" in a L3 system. However particular attention should be paid to the word "unknown" in the context of the phenomenology of the Via Negativa. In this context the term "unknown” or "unknowing" does not have the implication of "unable to be experienced", since if this were the case then there would be no sense in describing an "experience of the unknown". Furthermore the term "unknown" in this context does not mean "able to be experienced but incoherent" since those who have experienced the state of "unknowingness" are always clear about the "lucidity" of the experience
this is why for example the experience of theVia Negativa is consistently associated with "ideas of creation" (including the creation of the intelligible world) in the phenomenological experience..
For these reasons it is clear that the term "unknowing" or "unknowingness" , from the point of view of the phenomenology of the Via Negativa may be taken as a "third term" of logical discourse. For this reason it is legitimate to use the "logical structure" of L3 in the elucidation of certain "problems" in understanding the phenomenology of the Via Negativa.
There is however a "deeper" issue at stake in my suggestion of utilizing L3 in an attempt to elucidate the Via Negativa, namely the question of whether "multivalued logic" and L3 in particular are in themselves "coherent". Ie such "alternative logics" are not coherent then they cannot be legitimately used to elucidate aspects of the Via Negativa.
The consensus of scholarly opinion is that L3 is "coherent within its own rules of construction". The man argument has been as to whether it is a "real" or simply a "formal" system. This is equivalent to asking whether or not L3 is a "model" of any empirical system
See the discussion of these matters (with regard to "Many Valued Logics" in general in Ackermann op.cit and Zinov’ev op.cit. And also (in respect of L3 by Putham op.cit.see also Rescher N Topics in Philosophical Logic Dordrecht; Reidel..
The philosopher. H.Putham in several articles
Putham op.cit. argues that not only is logic "empirical", but also that an example of such an "empirical use of logic" is to be found in the attempts to match the "empirical facts" of quantum mechanics to the "rules" of "Standard Logic (L2).
This "formulation" of L3 with Unknowing as its third term can also be used to throw light upon Immanuel Kant's contention that the "real world" is "unknowable" and that we "construct" reality through various "transcendental categories". Given the phenomenology of the Via Negetiva outlined above, it would appear that we must take issue with Kant and admit that while the Nomenal realm is not "unknowable" it is able to be experienced. Yet this "experience" can rightly be described as "unknowable".
This particular approach (L3) can admit the "unknowable element" in Kant's epistemology, as a "possible experience" consistent with the phenomenology without having to abandon completely notions of coherence.
Given the remarks above it is interesting to note that Kant's “Critique” as it was formulated does not constitute a complete formal system!
By this I mean that Kant's use of the concept of an unknowable numenon places that realm beyond the scope of logical investigation, whereas by using "Unknown" as a third term in a L3 system all the elements of Kant's "Critique" can be brought within a single systematic "formal" structure. L3 can be understood as a "Meta level" of L2 in that L2 "makes perfect sense" in terms of L3, since if there are "two choices" rather than three in a given situation then the rules of L2 will still apply.
When we consider the concept of a "logical system" with an "unknown term" we are reminded in this respect of Godel's theorem, which demonstrates that. In all "systems of logic" there are some "axioms" which are "unprovable" within the terms of the "logical system" to which they belong. I suggest that one way of "modelling" the "existential experience" of the Via Negatiba, is to assume that the person is "directly experiencing" an "unprovable axiom" of their own "logical system
The relationships between Godels theorem and consciousness is extensively delbt with in Hofstadter Douglas R Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid 1981 ed Penguin books Harmondsworth Middlesex England.".
However there is an epistemological difficulty that seems to be involved with the above suggestion for if L3 is a "meta-system" of L2 and it is possible to experience directly one of the terms of L3 as a "phenomenological reality", then why can there not be an "infinite regress" in this regard. I will deal with this epistemological questionin the discussion below. This point will be dealt with below when I consider the epistemological system of "Transfinite Logic" combined with the "existential experience" of reified numbers as "energies".
In this instance while it is true to say that the article has a momentum Z this is only "accidentally true" truth in this instance is "non-distinctive" since all other possible momentum values are simultaneously true. For this reason it is insufficient to call these statement the particle has a momentum Z true since these statement is "meaningless" in the context being described.
The isomorphism is that I have noted however are I suggest relevant to the question of the ontological status of the experience of the Via Negetiva. Since certain aspects of the state of consciousness that characterize the Via Negetiva are isomorphic with a series of states in quantum mechanics the ontological status of which is admitted, they isomorphism's and strength to the hypothesis of a positive ontological status for the phenomenology of the Via Negetiva.
Rudolf Steiner
The second epistemological position that I wish to consider in relation to the via Negativa is that of Rudolf Steiner. Steiner’s epistemological position is of particular importance because it is specifically “anti-Kantian” in its formulation
See Truth and science by Rudolf Stinr (a Translation of Wahrheit und Wissenschaft (4th Eddition)by William Linderman 1993Mercury press Spring Valley NY USA Pp.I+VI,1-2/5-22.. It must be remembered that Steiner was a qualified “academic” philosopher having gained his Ph.D. in philosophy in 1891 with a specifically anti-Kantian epistemological thesis that has been translated into English as “Truth and Science”
Stuner op.cit.
In his thesis Steiner attempts to provide an “epistemology without presuppositions”
See the discussion in Truthh and Science op.cit Pp.3-4,23=33.42-65.. I will only deal with Steiner’s epistemology in so far as it is relevant to the elucidation of the Via Negativa .
The most important aspect of Stiner’s epistemology from the viewpoint of the Via Negativa is the “existential” nature of the epistemology
I use the term phenomenology is here in a broad sense, Stalinist phenomenology is ultimately based upon that of Goethe's diner details this approach in " Gothe's Theory of Knowledge (An Outline of the Epistemology of His Worldview)” 2008 Stiner Books Barington Massachusertis. This particular form of phenomenology is discussed in detail (but without much reference to Stiner) in "Taking Appearance Seriously" by Henri Bortoft Floris Books Edinburgh UK 2012. See also the discussion of Goethes epistemology in Naydler Jeremy 1996 ed. Goethe on Science : An Anthology of Goethe’s Scientific writings Floris Books Edinburgh. Stiner also extends his "existential epistemology" in Stiner Rudolf Intuitive Thinking as a spiritual Path (A Philosophy of freedom) 1995 Anthrosophic Press Hudson NY , Stiner (in opposition to Kant) emphasises the importance of “experience”.in determining the “Truth” of propositions. The importance of this perspective from the viewpoint of the Via Negativa is that this is predominately an actual experience,thus it qualifies as potentially “true from the viewpoint of Stiner.
Steiner proposes an “epistemology without presuppositions”. In his conception the “first state” which exists “before knowledge” is an undifferentiated “percept” which Steiner calls “the given
Truth and Science Pp, 23-41esprcially Pp.23-33] and 42-55.”. This “initial state” is completely undifferentiated and no part of “the given” can be distinguished from any other part. When knowledge occurs it is by the “lifting out” of certain aspects of the “given” and the differentiation that occurs between the now “separated” parts gives rise to “concepts” and consequently to “knowledge”
Ibid,.
A few remarks a will make it clear that Steiner’s epistemology is closely parallel to that of Ouspensky (discussed below) and to the phenomenology of the Via Negativa. Since in the initial “given” varies no “differentiation” it can literally be said to be “ no thing”. Yet this “no thing” is not strictly speaking a negation but contains all other experience with in it.
From this consideration it is possible to distinguish between “nothing” and “negation”. Negation in Steiner’s terminology would be regarded as a “concept” since it is essentially “contrasted”, that is to say it is a concept created by a comparison between “presence” and “absence”. Negation can be understood only against a “contrasted background” of “presence”. Nothingness on the other hand can be understood as “pure percept” which consists of “no thing”.
It should also be noted that in Stiner;s epistimology the “ego” which is the initial “observer” is in a “triple relationship” to the original “given”. Insofar as it is originally part of the “given” it can be seen as “identical with the given”. Insofar as it is an “observer” it can be understood as “transcending” the other percepts since it is from this “transcendent position” that all other “differentiation” arises. Once differentiation has arisen however it is clear that the ego is “less than” and “a part of” the given. It therefore has the same “triple structure” as “infinity” as described by Ouspenksy. The same distinction can be made in respect of “the given” since insofar as “it contains everything” it canbe seen as “identical with” the whole. Insofar as each individual “object” is also “a given” and the quality of “giveness” in this respect is not different from the quality of “giveness” as a whole it can be said to be “less than” its own totality, and insofar as an individual object within the “given” is concerned the “giveness” of the object is “less than” the “giveness” of the totality.
It should also be noted that if we take Steiner’s perspective of “the given” seriously then such a “percept” must be both “non-temporal” and “non-spatial” in nature since both time and space are “contrastive” and therefore are concepts. The experience of the extra temporal and extra spatial nature of the Via Negativa is also stressed in the Cloud of Unknowing
On Trans spatial qualities of the experience see Cloud Ch.7, 37-38, 47, 51. On the trans temporal nature of the experience see Ch,4 67..
It is interesting to note that Steiner’s concept of an “undifferentiated “given” that later differentiates into “distinct objects” is paralleled in modern neuroscience. In the case of individuals who have been born blind and whose site is restored by surgery we find that the initial visual experience is that of an “undifferentiated field” that later differentiates into individual objects. It is important to note that this phenomena was completely un-known to Steiner and its isomorphism with his conclusions in my opinion strengthens the probability of his epistemological formulation.
Steiner’s epistemological perspective explains perfectly why the “via Negativa” can be called “unknowing” since the “first percept” albeit “given” is a “state” prior to “knowledge”, it is literally therefore “un-knowing
References to "Unknowing" can be found in Cloud Ch, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 21, 24, 26, 28, 32, 69.”.
It is also necessary to consider (because of the reliance of the Cloud author on the theology of Pseudo-Dionysus ) Steiner’s lecture on “The Essence of Tomism in which she considers both the “positive way” and the “negative way” of Pseudo- Dionysus the Ariophagite
This lecture is to be found in Stiner Rudolf The Redemption of Thinking 1983 Anthrosophic Press Spring Valley New York. Pp. 53-84; particularly 60-61.
.
I find myself in this instance in disagreement with Steiner since in this lecture he seeks to distinguish between a “positive” and “negative” aspect of the philosophy of pseudo-Dionysius, in describing the “two-ways” Steiner says:
“The first path is as follows. If a man wishes to raise himself from the external things which surround him in the world to the divine he must seek to derive from all these external things the full perfection, their real nature. From these he must then attempt to get back to Absolute Perfection, and he must be able to attach such a name to this Divine Absolute Perfection that he gives it a content which can both manifests its own being and at the same time, by individualisation and differentiation account for the individual things found in the world. Thus you may say that for Dionysius, the Divine is that being to which the widest possible range of names must be applied, a being who must be described in the most superlative terms that can be derived from all that is most perfect in the created world. Find these perfections and amplified them to the Divinity and then you can arrive at some idea of the divine. This is one path that Dionysius propounds.
The other part is quite different. In regard to this, he says that you will never gain Divinity if you attached to it as much as one single name. For the whole soul-activity which you imply in finding the perfections in created beings, all which you expend seeking the true nature of those things in order that you may combine them and apply them in their totality to the divine, all this never leads to what can be called “Knowledge of the Divine. For this you must arrive at a state of mind in which you have freed yourself from all that you have known in creative things. You must banish absolutely from your consciousness everything that you have known in creative things. You must banish completely from your consciousness everything that you have experience of things. You must be completely unaware of anything that the world says to you. You must forget all the names which you are accustomed to give to things and you must transpose yourself into a condition of soul in which you know nothing of the whole world. If in your soul you can reach this experience, then you are experiencing “Nameless” which is such that, if you attach any name to it, all knowledge of it immediately disappears. Then you have the knowledge of God, the supreme god in his absolute beauty. But even the words “Supreme God” and “Absolute Beauty” disturb the experience. They can only serve to point towards that which you must experience as “The Nameless”
The Redemption of Thinking op.cit Pp. 61-63 and also the appendix IV "The Two Paths" 168-172..
Steiner suggests that the “methodology” imply was to “switch” back and forward between the fwo conceptions.
However as mine examination of the phenomenology of the The Via Negativa above has demonstrated Steiner’s “negative and positive ways” are in fact both simultaneously implicit in the phenomenology of the Via Negativa. It is this apparent “incompatibility” of the conceptions that is successfully modelled by the next epistemological methodology that I shall examine.
Trans-Finite Logics.
The third epistemological tool that I intend to explore is that of "trans-finite Logics. The best example of this is Ouspensky in his "Tertium Organanum"
Terrtium Organum. By P.D. Ouspensky Vintage Books (Random House) New York USA 1970.. Several of the works by Ouspensky are relevant to the elucidation of certain aspects of "understanding" the "Via Negativa". Ouspensky is also an exemplar of a "school" of early 20th Century philosophers who dealt with "multidimensional geometry and mystical thought
This School of philosophy is sometimes called Perdurantism (a variant sub-school is called Four Dimentialism (see The Penguin Dictionary of Astrology ed. Thomas Mautner Penguin books London UK 2005 Pp.229;457.. I intend to deal with the works of this "school" only in so far as it helps to elucidate certain aspects of the "Via Negativa".
Ouspensky was a Russian mathematician and philosopher who became a refugee from the Communist revolution. He later became involved with the Georgian exotericist Gurdjieff, however the material that I am considering here dates from before his involvement with Gurdjieff and can be regarded as a strictly mathematical and philosophical text.
Ouspenksy defines three axioms of Aristotelian and Braconian logic as follows (V. axioms of Baconian logic in parentheses):
A is A
(That which was A will be A)
A is not Not A
(That which was Not A will be Not A
Everything is either A or Not A
(Everything will be either A or Not A
Terrtium Organum. Op Cit p.222.)
As Ouspinsky points out there is are not strictly “artificial axioms” but rather are a transcription of “ordinary perception”. Thus they correspond to the “perceptions”:
This is this.
This is that.
This is not that
Op Cit Pp 219-221..
Insofar as such “axioms” are a mathematical representation of perception, they can be said to “arise naturally” in the consciousness of human beings. We must bear in mind this “derivation from perception” of the “basic principles” as discussed below. When we seek to understand “auction states of consciousness” such as that perceived in the Via Negativa there will also be a corresponding “mathematical notation” corresponding to the “axioms of perception” in this particular state of consciousness.
Ouspenksky says "if we compare the axioms of logic of Aristotle and of bacon with the axioms of mathematics as it is commonly known, we find between them a complete similarity.
The Axioms of Logic:
A is A
A is not Not A
Everything is either A or Not A
Ibid. Pp.222 - 223.
fully correspond to the axioms of mathematics, to the axioms of identity and difference.
Every magnitude is equal to its self
The part is less than the whole.
Two magnitudes equal separately to a third are equal to each other"
Ibid p.223..
Ouspenksy points out that "these axioms are untrue in relation to infinite and variable magnitudes in "transfinite mathematics" … all magnitudes... despite their diversity are equal among themselves.
He then proceeds to define me "axioms" of this mathematics asfollows:
A magnitude can be not equal to itself
A part can be equal to the whole, or it can be greater than the whole
One of two equal magnitudes can be infinitely greater than another
All different magnitudes are equal among themselves"
Ibld p.226..
From these Ouspenksy defines be "axioms" of transfinite logics. "Taking the axioms of Aristotle as a model we may express the principal axioms of the new logic... in the following manner.
A is both A and Not A
Or: Fverything is both A and Not A
Everything is All”
Ibld p.236-234.
Ouspenksy goes on to say "But these axioms are in effect absolutely impossible. They are not the axioms of higher logic, they are merely attempts to express the axioms of this logic in concepts in reality the ideas of higher logic inexpressible in concepts"
Ibid.p 236..
Ouspenksy claims that it is possible to find traces of his formulation of transfinite logics in various ancient religious and philosophical texts. He specifically connects it with (amongst other examples) the neoplatonic philosophy of Plotinus
Ibid Pp236; 252-253., this is of particular interest because in the Christian tradition the works of "Pseudo-Dionysius" upon which the Christian version of the Via Negativa is based, our generally held to derive from "n\Neo-Platonic" sources
On Pages 259-251 of Tertium Organum Ouspensky discusses "Greek Orthodox Mysticism" in relation to Trans Finite Logic, this is of considerable importance because the major influence on Greek Orthodox mystical theology of Psuedo-Dionysus who is also a major theological influence on the Cloud author.. Ouspenksy claims that it is possible to find traces of his formulation of transfinite logics in various ancient religious and philosophical texts
Ibid Pp.244-277..
It should also be remembered in this regard that the Neo-Platonists were not only philosophers but also "practical mystic's" who indulged in meditation and various other mystical practices as part of their philosophical activity. I therefore suggest that in this instance the "similarities" between their formulations and that of Ouspenksy ultimately derived from be "existential reality" of the mystical states experienced by the Neo-Platpjists.
The immediate relevance of Ouspensky’s formulation to the formulation of the Via Negativa is the possibility that in the corresponding “state of consciousness” what is being experienced is “an existential experience of infinity”.
There is a “mathematical isomorphism between 0 and ∞. Thus 0+0 = 0, 0×0 = 0, 0÷0 = 0, 0-0 = 0 and also ∞ + ∞ = ∞; ∞ × ∞ = ∞; ∞ + ∞ = ∞; ∞ - i∞ = ∞. It could be argued that this isomorphism it is “mere mathematical quibbling” however Ouspenksy himself provides evidence that mathematical formulations can be experienced as “a dynamic existential experience”.
In his book “A New Model of the Universe” Ouspensky relates a “mystical experience. “
. “In this state also,… Finding myself in the “world of mathematical relationships”,… The answers often took a very strange for. It… The world of mathematical relation in which I was did not remain immodable;… There was nothing in it that remained as it was a moment before. Everything blue, change, was transformed and became something else. It… All mathematical relationships disappear one after another into infinity period infinity swallowed everything, build everything; all distinctions were ieffaced.… I felt that one moment more and I myself would disappear into infinity period I was overcome with terror at the imminence of this abyss. In… The complete absence of anything that could be expressed in the language of ordinary concepts period… The real world was a “world without forms”
A New Model of the Universe” by P.D.Ouspensky Dover Press Mineola New York USA 1997 Pp..
It is important to note in this regard our spin ski’s description of the “experience of infinity” as involving the experience of the effacing of all distinctions as “an abyss” and also as beyond anything that could be “expressed in language of ordinary concepts, and a “world without forms”. All of this language is characteristic of the language used to describe the the Negativa.
In respect of the “experience of infinity” we should also note that this can occur in a form that does not (initially) resemble the the Negativa. In the Kabbalistic tradition, there is an experience called “t“the vision of the Our Aleph” this state has been described in terms of a form of “holographic” vision for example Jorge Louis Borges describes the state as follows:
“In that single gigantic incident I saw millions of acts both delightful and all for; not one of them amaze me more than the fact that all of them occupied the same point in space without overlapping or transparency. What my eyes beheld was simultaneous but what I shall now write down will be successive since language is successive..…
Quoted in "The Possible Human" by Jean Houston J.P.Tarcher Inc Los Angeles CA USA 1998 Pp 188-189 , From Jeorge Luis Borge "The Aleph". "The Aleph and Over Stories", 1933-1969 (New York: Bantam Books 1974).”
This experience is also known in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions as “the net of Indra”. It has been described as “a holographic experience”
See Houston op.cit p.188..
The essential distinction between this state (which also contains an experience of infinity) and the Via Negativa is that in the Via Negativa there is no “experience” of forms. If we are already consider Ouspensky’s account inas quoted above use that the existential experience of nothingness involves an “existential terror”
Ouspensky A New Model of the Universe op.cit.. For this reason I consider it more likely that the experience of the “vision of the Alef” is a reification of the original “existential experience of infinity” rather than the other way around.
This also throws light upon the Buddhist texts such as that quoted above where we might otherwise think that the descriptions is a “reification” of a mystical state. It appears rather that such texts are an attempt to express in words a direct and unratified mystical experience rather than a reification of a different kind of experience.
In fact if we examine Ouspensky’s account we find the explicit statement that the “infinity” swallows up all distinctions. This is further evidence that the experience of the Vision of the Aleph” is different from that of the “existential experience of infinity as described by Ouspensky. Although it may seem at first that there is a “two-step” process (vision of the Aleph followed by the “existential experience of infinity” in which the “individual forms” in the Vision of the Aleph are swallowed up) this is not the case. For example the experience of the via Negativa is not necessarily preceded by any kind of “vision of form”, and the experience of the “Vision of the Aleph” is not usually followed by an experience of the Via Negativa. Nevertheless because both of these experiences are in their own way a direct “existential experience of infinity” we can presuppose that there is a relationship between them and the relationship that I have suggested above would seem to be the correct solution theory
It should be noted that in dealing with the description of Ouspensky and in relating that description to his “transfinite logic” we find a number of characteristics of the Via Negativa described. For example the “void” both contains and does not contain “forms” and the experience in compasses both sensations of “fullness” and “emptiness”. Moreover the very word “void” he is equivalent to the “nothingness” characteristic of the Via Negativa. The fact that Ouspensky’s “transfinite logic” “closely maps” the phenomenology of the via Negativa is further evidence for the hypothesis that the Via Negativa is actually “an existential experience of infinity”.
It is important to note that Ouspensky considers his “axioms” as a “mathematical model” of “ordinary perception”. If this is indeed the case (and it seems to be so) then it is possible that his “transfinite logic” is a “model” of “transfinite perception”. In this case we can regard his third axiom, “Everything is All” as a mathematical representation of Steiner’s “original percept”.
It is also significant that from the viewpoint of transfinite logic infinity can be said to have a “triadic structure”. This can be expressed by saying that infinity is simultaneously greater than less than and equal to its self. A brief consideration from a mathematical viewpoint of the surface of a piece of paper will illustrate this point. The surface of the piece of paper contains an infinite number of lines. Each line consists of an infinite number of points. It is possible to say that “the infinity of lines is greater than the infinity of points” insofar as each line contains an infinite series of points. It is also possible to say that “the infinity of points is less than the infinity of lines, since there is an infinity of points contained within each line. It is also possible to say that the infinity of lines and the infinity of points are equal to each other since they are both infinity.
This “triple structure” is implicit in the formulation of Steiner, as I have shown above, and is also explicit in the Hebrew Kabbalistic model described above. This would of course indicate that the “experience” of the Via Negativa is in fact an experience of “infinity” rather than an experience of “nothingness”.
In this respect it is important to note that (human the common phenomenology of the Via Negativa) the word for “emptiness” in the Buddhist C+ mentioned above can also mean “pregnant
I am indebted for this insight to Dr Lesa Davies.”.
Once we understand the fact that “infinity” is also experienced as “nothingness” we can immediately see the relevance of certain ancient Gnostic texts that speak of the deity as on the one hand “an abyss” (emptiness) and on the other hand as pleroma (fullness). These two conceptions are often combined in the same documents.
It must be clearly understood that when we speak of “nothingness” in relation to the Via Negativa we do not mean “negation”, or nialation in the sense of Sartre. In terms of the Via Negativa “nothingness” is literally “No-Thingness” and represents “limitlessness” rather than negation.
Summary and conclusions
The three epistemological formulations that I have considered here are by no means the only such formulations available that can in my opinion throwing light upon the phenomenology of the Via Negativa specifically and of religious experience in general. There is not the scope within the confines of this study to outline some of these other approaches, so I will confine myself here to the three methodologies considered in this study and their ramifications for epistemology in general.
The first and most obvious importance of the phenomenological experience of the Via Negativa is that it directly contradicts by replicated will experience one of the fundamentals of Kant’s epistemology. Kant held that the nuemenonal realm was inaccessible to experience, whereas the phenomenology of the Via Negativa would seem to indicate the opposite. Moreover this “experience” is “replicateable” since the methodologies for achieving such a “state” not only existing literature but have been “road tested” by mystics for millennia.
In relation to the three epistemological formulations dealt with in this study each of them addresses certain features of the common phenomenology of the Via Negativa.
The epistemology of Cooper and of the “alternative logic” that I have labelled L3 has the virtue of being able to retain the phenomena of “unknowable must” which is essential to the Via Negativa. In spite of containing a “third term” of “unknowable” this epistemology nevertheless allows for rigourous formulation of truth tables and predicate calculus, it has also been demonstrated to be effective in “modelling” certain aspects of (external reality) quantum mechanics.
The epistemology of Steiner is of particular importance because it recognises the inherent difficulties and “presuppositions” of Kant’s epistemology. Although it does not specifically deal with the epistemological issues in regard to Kant’s formulation as outlined above, nevertheless it provides a useful “alternative epistemological viewpoint”.
Steiner’s concept of “the given” seems to be phenomenologically identical to the experience of the Via Negativa. Steiner’s views are extended and elaborated in other philosophical works, however it is a methodology which is specifically phenomenological (in the sense deriving from Goethe rather than Husserl) provides an important “beginning” for the formulation of a specifically phenomenological epistemology.
The epistemology of Ouspensky is based upon an extrapolation of the principles of transfinite mathematics into the sphere of logic. Such an extrapolation is entirely consistent with the principles of formal logic which is itself a form of mathematics. In terms of the phenomenology of the Via Negativa this form of epistemology “preserves” several important features.
Firstly it preserves the “unlimited” qualities of the experience, and also allows us to understand the apparently “contradictory” nature of some of the statements of those who have formulated the experience, if we attempt to understand it in terms of ordinary language or logic. This epistemology also preserves the “triadic structure” that is sometimes observed in the formulation of the Via Negativa. It is also mathematically consistent and internally coherent according to the rules of transfinite mathematics.
It should also be remembered in considering the epistemologies outlined above that both Steiner and Ouspensky as well as being academically qualified philosophers and mathematicians were also “practising mystics” and had direct experience of the phenomenology of various mystical states.
None of the three formulations of epistemology outlined here is completely “isomorphic” with the Via Negativa. Each of the formulations however contains valuable heuristic insights into the phenomenology of the Via Negativa. It is consistent with the “map analogy” given above that this should be the case. The facility of the map analogy to the various epistemologies dealt with in this study adds I suggest a strong argument for the “ontological status” of the Via Negativa, the ontological issues posed by the phenomena of the Via Negativa are however beyond the scope of the present study.
It is also possible to extend our new understanding of the “triadic structure” of the phenomenological experience of infinity to understand the three basic cross cultural “religious formulations”
it is important to note in terms of the “mathematical model” that I’m considering here that all forms of mathematics so far developed have eventually proven to be of “real-world application” no matter how abstract they may at first have appeared. The alarm important it epistemological and ontological issues involved in this perspective, as there appears to be no a priori reason why mathematics should be isomorphic with “external reality”. The fact that Ouspensky has utilised the insights of Crantor in formulating his system of logic is no reason to assume that such a system is “arbitrary” or does not correspond to “real-world events”.
These three formulations can be seen if we consider “religious formulations” in a cross-cultural perspective. Thus we can find in many religious traditions the formulation “I am less than the ultimate
I use the term ultimate here to indicate that the religious formulations in question are not necessarily "theistic". Thus "the ultimate" may be formulated as "the universe" (without personification) already then as "emptiness" in the Buddhist and Taoist formulations. Obviously the Jewish question and Islamic traditions reflect is the "first formulation.”. Other religious traditions formulate this “I am equal to the ultimate
This formulation is characteristic of some of the Hindu traditions in week Moxa (liberation) is conceived of as "absorption into the totality".
”. A third category of religious formulations can be expressed as “I transcend the ultimate”.
Of course this “formulation” cannot describe “all religious experience” about the fact that all religions have bought one of these formulations implicit within them is an indication of the importance of this insight. I hold that the formulations in question are not simply “post hoc” doctrinally and formulations but were originally out of a phenomenological experience of infinity. Rather than three “incompatible formulations” it is possible to see all of these formulations as springing out of a single phenomenological experience.
For this reason I suggest that the phenomena of the Via Negativa is not simply a “common mystical experience” but is at the heart of the formulation of all religious experience.
The epistemological considerations outlined in this study seem to indicate that “religious language” and specifically the language of the Via Negativa are not simply “incoherent” or “meaningless”, but rather by the use of alternative epistemological methodologies it is possible to gain some “heuristic depth” in regard to religious formulations.
The apparent “inconsistencies” in religious language are dissolved when we use alternative logical and epistemological systems to examine them. It must be recognised however that apparent “contradictions” in this language can also be utilised in an “operative” as well as a “theoretical” context. I mean by this that the contradictions can be systematically used to “drive the mind” into an altered state of consciousness as is the case in Zen Budthism. There are traces of this “utility of paradox” methodology in the cloud of unknown and in other “religious formulations” in the Western religious and philosophical traditions.
The alternative epistemologies can be seen therefore as “operative tools” for inducing altered states of consciousness as well as simple modes of humanistic utility. It is this unique double quality of the phenomenology of the Via Negativa that allows us to appreciate in more detail the richness of the Via Negativa and related literature and states of consciousness.
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