Curing the Philosopher's Disease: Reinstating Mystery in the Heart of Philosophy

Richard H. Jones

2009 ira. · University Press of America

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Curing the Philosopher's Disease is a philosophical examination of the mysteries surrounding the foundations of science, philosophy, and religion. Much of Western philosophy and science is discussed in order to see our epistemological and metaphysical situation. The love/hate relation philosophers have with mystery is explored, as are the contributions of reductionists and antireductionists, postmodern relativists and critical realists, naturalists and the religious, and theologians and mystics. The thrust of the arguments affirms that there are limits to what philosophy, science, religion, and mystical experiences can tell us about reality. By acknowledging that some questions may be unanswerable and understanding the importance of that fact even as the answers remain ambiguous, our true situation in the world is revealed. Mystery should be reinstated as a basic feature when we reflect upon the nature of what we know and who we are. Mystery frames all of our claims to fundamental knowledge, and we must accept that it will remain a permanent fixture. Thus, the importance of mystery needs to be reaffirmed today, during an era when the fullness of reality is often ignored.

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Richard H. Jones holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University in the history and philosophy of religion and an A.B. from Brown University in religious studies. He also has a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and practices law in New York City, where he lives. He is the author of Science and Mysticism (Bucknell University Press/Booksurge), Mysticism Examined (State University of New York Press), Reductionism (Bucknell University Press), Mysticism and Morality (Lexington Books), and numerous philosophy of religion and law review articles.