Modern Languages and Literatures, Department of
Date of this Version
1992
Citation
Carmelus, v. 39 (1992), pp. 224-226.
Abstract
In this study Steven Payne argues that mystical states have objective cognitive content and that consequently mysticism "has a significant bearing on the justification of religious faith ... " (p. ix). The book is divided into two main sections: the first is dedicated to the life and teachings of St John of the Cross; and the second is an attempt to "justify belief in the cognitive value of mystical and religious experience" by means of what Payne calls an "explanatory inference" (p. xiii).