Analiza i Egzystencja


ISSN: 1734-9923     eISSN: 2300-7621    OAI    DOI: 10.18276/aie.2025.72-05
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Issue archive / 72 (2025)
Filozofia mistycyzmu Bertranda Russella
(Bertrand Russell’s Philosophy of Mysticism)

Authors: Andrzej Biłat ORCID
Politechnika Warszawska
Keywords: mystical experience contemplation contemplative-emotional state secular spirituality
Whole issue publication date:2025
Page range:21 (113-133)
Cited-by (Crossref) ?:

Abstract

Bertrand Russell’s texts dealing with the question of mysticism fall into two groups. The first, comprising extracts from Mysticism and Logic (1914), critiques of the main theses of mystical philosophy found in the writings of thinkers such as Parmenides, Spinoza, and Hegel. The second group includes, among others, of extracts from The Essence of Religion (1912) and presents a conception of non-dogmatic mysticism as a spiritual attitude towards the world, defined by a specific type of contemplation and mystical motion. This article provides a rational reconstruction of the main assumptions of this conception, taking into account its philosophical context and its connections to the contemporary psychology of mystical experiences developed in the tradition of W. James and W.T. Stace. It offers new insights into Russell’s early thought, revealing the complex structure and philosophical and the psychological significance of his conception of mysticism.
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