Franklin Merrell Wolff An American Philosopher And Mystic

This is a memoir of the life of Franklin Fowler Wolff, whose pen name was Franklin Merrell-Wolff. It is about his inner and outer journey through his life of ninety-eight years. His time at Stanford and Harvard developed his keen intellect in philosophy and mathematics, which in turn led him to seek a deeper meaning. This book follows Wolffs participation and then abandonment of available spiritual groups of the early 1900s. He considered his marriage to Sarah Merrell a spiritual partnership, between the two of them developed a relationship with several students and associates who were also spiritually oriented.

This book provides a critical exposition of the philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff, a twentieth-century mystic and philosopher—an exceedingly rare and fruitful combination. Wolff's training in philosophy and science convinced him that it was important to ground his thought in immediate awareness to avoid the pitfalls of mere intellectual speculation. As a mystic, he included firsthand accounts of his experiences and transformations, the sort of invaluable primary data that is most often lacking in a mystic's writings. Ron Leonard discusses Wolff's influences and realizations and uses phenomenological and analytic methods to explore the implications of his work within the contemporary philosophical context. In particular, Leonard focuses on Wolff's two primary claims: (1) that Consciousness, transcending the subject-object structure, is primary, and (2) that there is in mystical experience a means of knowing other than sensation and conception. This book explores the accounts of Wolff's grounding in the immediacy of his Realizations, and the nature and philosophical significance of mysticism for our understanding of knowledge, reality, and ourselves.

In The Secular Religion of Franklin Merrell-Wolff: An Intellectual History of Anti-intellectualism in Modern America, Dave Vliegenthart offers an account of the life and teachings of the modern American mystic Franklin Merrell-Wolff (1887–1985), who combined secular and religious sources from eastern and western traditions in order to elaborate and legitimate his metaphysical claim to the realization of a transcendental reality beyond reason. Using Merrell-Wolff as a typical example of a modern western guru, Vliegenthart investigates the larger sociological and historical context of the ongoing grand narrative that asserts a widespread anti-intellectualism in modern American culture, exploring developments in religious, philosophical, and psychological discourses in North America from 1800 until the present.

Pathways Through to Space is the first coherent, practical guide to achieving higher levels of consciousness. An outstanding contribution to mystic literature, this personal experiential journal offers an intimate view of one man's search for the truth. With the insight and sensitivity of Gurdjieff, Ouspensky, Lilly, Castaneda, and Laing, the words of this highly developed scientist-thinker will serve as an inspiration for greater and more expansive experiences, leading the way toward a new synthesis of perception and understanding.

Here is an account of the enlightenment experience and its consequences written by a trained philosopher and mathematician who is also a master of English prose. Merrell-Wolff experienced enlightenment, became established in the state, and wrote clearly about the value and nature of the knowledge he attained. This is a record of transformation in consciousness written during the actual process itself, supplying an unusually intimate view. The author faces the epistemological problem directly--the problem of demonstrating the reality and value of knowledge springing from mystical roots. He gives serious attention to the philosophical and psychological criticism, writing with an eye to the pitfalls indicated by such criticism. He did not write only for those who believe easily.

This book presents a philosophy that includes the enlightenment experience--a philosophy grounded on the authority of direct realization resulting from transformation in consciousness.

In an exploration of mystical texts from ancient India and China to medieval Europe and modern day America, Robert K. C. Forman, one of the leading voices in the study of mystical experiences, argues that the various levels of mysticism may not be shaped by culture, language, and background knowledge, but rather are a direct encounter with our very conscious core itself. Mysticism, Mind, Consciousness focuses on first-hand accounts of two distinct types of mystical experiences. Through examination of texts, recorded interviews, and courageous autobiographical experiences, the author describes not only the well-known "pure consciousness event" but also a new, hitherto uncharted "dualistic mystical state." He provides a thorough and readable depiction of just what mysticism feels like. These accounts, and the experiences to which they give voice, arise from the heart of living practices and have substance and detail far beyond virtually any others in the literature. The book also reexamines the philosophical issues that swirl around mysticism. In addition to examining modern day constructivist views, Forman argues that the doctrines of Kant, Husserl, and Brentano cannot be applied to mysticism. Instead he offers new philosophical insights, based on the work of Chinese philosopher of mind Paramartha. The book concludes with an examination of mind and consciousness, which shows that mysticism has a great deal to tell us about human experience and the nature of human knowledge far beyond mysticism itself.

Orientalism and Religion offers us a timely discussion of the implications of contemporary post-colonial theory for the study of religion. Richard King examines the way in which notions such as mysticism, religion, Hinduism and Buddhism are taken for granted. He shows us how religion needs to be reinterpreted along the lines of cultural studies. Drawing on a variety of post-structuralist and post-colonial thinkers, such as Foucault, Gadamer, Said, and Spivak, King provides us with a challenging series of reflections on the nature of Religious Studies and Indology.

Bob Fergeson distills the best of his advice on the practical matters of the spiritual search in this little book of self-knowledge. Unafraid to speak of his own difficulties and realizations, Bob offers an everyman's guide to self-realization: not through believing the words of another, but through seeking within; cultivating what he calls the Listening Attention.