The Apriori in Otto’s Notion of Religion and Mysticism

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Akarm Ebrahimi 1
Enshallah Rahmati 2
1 PhD student in comparative philosophy, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
2 Associate Professor at Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
10.30497/prr.2018.2327
Abstract
The article grapples with Otto’s idea of unity and diversity in Mysticism. On the one hand, he believes in the diversity of Mysticisms and, on the other hand, he contends that various forms of Mysticism can be considered as a united body. Various forms of Mysticism, as he asserts, is formed in a realm beyond different cultures, ethnic groups and lands. Otto claims that this can be explained by appealing to a realm beyond the empirical. In this article, I shall explore the roots and consequences of this idea. It will be shown that Otto’s idea has a Kantian point of departure. Besides, it is a Platonic as well as Lutheran idea. Finally, I will argue that, understood this way, there is room for a comparison between Otto’s idea and the idea of eternality of the self in Islamic philosophy.
Keywords
The Holy
The apriori
Unity of Mysticism
Diversity of Mysticism
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