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Philosophy, Mysticism and Humility
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Ilya Shambat
Oct 4, 2022, 4:17:15 PM10/4/22
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Philosophers are known for being arrogant, and mystics are known for being humble. I have an idea as to why that is.
The philosopher gets to his realizations through his own efforts. He has come up with an understanding that nobody else has done. The logical implication of this is that he is smarter than others, which leads to pride.
The mystic gets to his realization by contacting spiritual powers. The logical implication of this is that there are powers smarter than himself. That leads to humility.
There is a place for both approaches. I, for one, have done both. Mysticism has most certainly taught me humility, which I originally did not have and did not regard to be a virtue. But I have also came up with original thought, and I am proud of the realizations that I have had and written about.
When faced with dualities of approaches, it is advisable to be conversant in both. Thus, thinking and feeling working together get further and faster than either acting alone. The error of mere thought is coldness and lack of compassion; the error of feeling is mindlessness and self-absorption. When the two work together, they check these potentials in each other while combining to achieve wisdom faster and fuller than either one by itself.
So I believe that there is a place both for philosophical approach and for mystical approach. The first empowers the person’s intelligence so that he gets to some truth through his own efforts. The second provides one a perspective of powers greater than his own. And the of them, working together, correct each other’s potential drawbacks while synthesizing to achieve wisdom fuller and faster than either one can by itself.
The philosopher gets to his realizations through his own efforts. He has come up with an understanding that nobody else has done. The logical implication of this is that he is smarter than others, which leads to pride.
The mystic gets to his realization by contacting spiritual powers. The logical implication of this is that there are powers smarter than himself. That leads to humility.
There is a place for both approaches. I, for one, have done both. Mysticism has most certainly taught me humility, which I originally did not have and did not regard to be a virtue. But I have also came up with original thought, and I am proud of the realizations that I have had and written about.
When faced with dualities of approaches, it is advisable to be conversant in both. Thus, thinking and feeling working together get further and faster than either acting alone. The error of mere thought is coldness and lack of compassion; the error of feeling is mindlessness and self-absorption. When the two work together, they check these potentials in each other while combining to achieve wisdom faster and fuller than either one by itself.
So I believe that there is a place both for philosophical approach and for mystical approach. The first empowers the person’s intelligence so that he gets to some truth through his own efforts. The second provides one a perspective of powers greater than his own. And the of them, working together, correct each other’s potential drawbacks while synthesizing to achieve wisdom fuller and faster than either one can by itself.
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