Sri Aurobindo’s Pascalian argument

AUROBINDO'S PHILOSOPHY OF BRAHMAN was published by E. J. Brill, Leiden, in 1986. The copyright has reverted to me as author. This electronic version has been thoroughly edited and improved in matters of expression and style. But I have not tried to revise the arguments or conclusions, though in a few cases, I would concede, revision is called for.

The electronic pagination corresponds to that of the 1986 edition pretty closely except in chapter 1. The mismatch there runs at most one page. The numbering also gets out of sync for a few subheads in chapter 5.

It is appropriate to mention again those acknowledged in the 1986 edition (some of whom sadly are now deceased). These were my teachers: Robert Nozick, Arabinda Basu, Daniel H. H. Ingalls, H. Maheshwari, Robert McDermott, Gordon D. Kaufman, Roderick Firth, Gary A. Tubb, Eliot Deutsch, Norris Clarke, Peter Heehs, Colin Foote, Jagannatha Vedalankara, and Asha Phillips.

Stephen Phillips
March 2001 PREFACE (to the electronic edition)
Table of Contents

Preface to the electronic edition, March 2001
Introduction ......................................................... 1
Chapter One: The Epistemology of Mysticism ..... 6
Doxastic justification ........................................... 6
Mystic claims ....................................................... 7
Theories of justification for a mystic ................. 8
W. V. Quine’s view .............................................. 9
Coherence theory ................................................ 11
Ordinary-language philosophy .......................... 12
Foundationalism .................................................. 15
The issue of pragmatic intersubjectivity .......... 19
Aurobindo’s claim: the parallelism thesis ......... 22
Can non-mystics understand objective mystic claims? 24
Should non-mystics believe objective mystic claims? 31
William James’ view ............................................ 32
David Hume’s argument ..................................... 34
The mystic difference .......................................... 37
Mystic diversity ................................................... 40
Subjectivistic skepticism ..................................... 43
The issue of mystic exemption from the requirements of coherence .... 47
Mystic and non-mystic metaphysics ................. 49
Mystic testimony .................................................. 51
Chapter Two: Aurobindo and Indian Tradition ..... 54
Aurobindo’s Indian identity ................................ 54
The Upanishads .................................................... 57
Vedanta ................................................................ 62
Indian mystic empiricism .................................... 64
The authority of sruti ........................................... 67
Yoga ........................................................................ 73
Indian theism ........................................................ 78
Tantra .................................................................... 82
The Rg Veda .......................................................... 84
Conclusions ............................................................ 87
Chapter Three: Brahman, ‘‘Experienced’’ and Conceptualized ... 89
Prospectus ............................................................. 89
Aurobindo’s political life and nationalism .......... 90
Early mystic experiences .................................... 92
Conceptual forerunners and problems .............. 95
Later mystic experiences: bhakti ...................... 98
The unity and omnipresence of Brahman ........ 102
Supramental experience: the Infinite ............... 107
Brahman in itself as ‘‘self-existent’’ .................. 115
A tentative appraisal ........................................... 118
Chapter Four: Brahman and the Universe: Divine Life ... 122
Brahman as immanent ........................................ 122
Supermind as the Creator ................................... 124
Involution .............................................................. 129
World-affirmativism ............................................ 131
Ananda and value: Brahman’s motivation for manifestation ... 134
Matter and the instrumentality of evil .............. 140
The failure of the argument for divine life: Brahman as transcendent ... 143
The cognitive status of the theory of divine life. 144
Divine life as the significance of the cosmos ...... 146
Chapter Five: A General Appraisal .......................... 150
What do the difficulties in Aurobindo’s view mean? 150
The value of mystic experience .......................... 154
Veridicality and value ........................................... 158
The value of Aurobindo’s mystic tradition of ‘‘yoga’’ 167
The question of pragmatic decidability .............. 168
Aurobindo’s ‘‘spiritualist’’ predictions ................ 173
The temporal indeterminacy of Aurobindo’s predictions 175
Aurobindo’s Pascalian argument ......................... 177
Appendix A: Chart (and note to chart) ............... 182
Appendices B and C: Aurobindo’s life and (philosophic) writing 184
Appendix C: Chronology of selected Indian works and authors ... 186
Bibliography Index ................................................. 187