Dialectics and the Sublime in Underhill's Mysticism

Preface and Acknowledgements.- Chapter 1: Introduction.- 1.1: Evelyn Underhill and her foundational text on mysticism.- 1.2: Mysticism: concept, approaches and the thrust of this study.- 1.3: Writings on and by Underhill.- 1.4: Procedure.- 1.5: The chapters.- 1.6: A note on gender pronouns.- Chapter 2: Being-Becoming.- 2.1: Introduction.- 2.2: Vitalism: transcendence in this world of flux.- 2.3: A general configuration of being, becoming and infinite being.- 2.4: Being and becoming and the mediating dialectic.- 2.5: Being and becoming and the individualizing dialectic.- 2.6: Transcendence and immanence and the being-becoming dialectics.- 2.7: Sublimity and the two forms of mystical transcendence.- 2.7.1: The sublime in transcendence as including-exceeding.- 2.7.1.1: Experiencing divine reality as infinite.- 2.7.1.2: Experiencing all finite beings as immersed in infinite reality.- 2.7.2: The sublime in transcendence as excluding.- 2.8: Chapter conclusion.- Chapter 3: Infinity-Finitude.- 3.1: Introduction.- 3.2: Talking about infinity.- 3.2.1: Potential and actual infinities: establishing the contention.- 3.2.2: A synthesis of potential and actual infinities.- 3.3: Dialectical trinity.- 3.3.1: Configuring the relational structure of the trinity.- 3.3.2: Hegel's infinity and trinity.- 3.4: The problem of objectivity in mystical intimacy.- 3.4.1: Trans subjectivism and mysticism.- 3.4.2: Objective idealism and mysticism.- 3.4.3: Tentative unitivism and mysticism.- 3.5: Chapter conclusion.- 4: Light-Darkness (I).- 4.1: Introduction.- 4.2: A dialectical metaphor.- 4.2.1: Dialectical pairing.- 4.2.2: Dialectical procedure as negation of negation.- 4.3: Mysticism's stage development: an overview.- 4.4: The dawn of the mystical quest.- 4.4.1: Testimonials on awakening.- 4.4.2: Sublime awakening.- 4.5: The first transformative night.- 4.5.1: Detachment.- 4.5.2: Mortification.- 4.5.3: Dialectical incorporation, universal-particular dialectic, and sublimity.- 4.6:Illumination.-

Peter Gan is an academic in the Philosophy and Civilization Section of the School of Humanities at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. In the midst of spending years juggling work and studies he managed to complete a Bachelor of Theology, a Bachelor of Arts (honours), a Master of Social Science and a Doctoral Degree. Peter's research, publication, and teaching revolve around the discipline of philosophy. To the best of his recollection, his interest in mysticism was first piqued when he just completed high school. For more than a decade now, Peter has been devoting a considerable degree of his energies to the study and investigation of mysticism using the categories and methods contained in the field of philosophy of religion.