“Mysticism, according to its historical and psychological definitions, is the direct intuition or experience of God; and a mystic is a person who has, to a greater or less degree, such a direct experience -- one whose religion and life are centered, not merely on an accepted belief or practice, but on that which the person regards as first hand personal knowledge.” FirstsPersonsHandsBeliefPracticeGreaterDegreesDirectRegardHistoricalDefinitionsIntuitionAcceptedPsychologicalMysticismMysticPersonal Knowledge Author:Evelyn Underhill
“Compare mathematics and the political sciences - it's quite striking. In mathematics, in physics, people are concerned with what you say, not with your certification. But in order to speak about social reality, you must have the proper credentials, particularly if you depart from the accepted framework of thinking. Generally speaking, it seems fair to say that the richer the intellectual substance of a field, the less there is a concern for credentials, and the greater is the concern for content.” PeopleIfsThinkingRealitySeemsPoliticalOrderSpeakSocialGreaterFieldsIntellectualConcernConcernedFairsMathematicsAcceptedPhysicsSubstanceCompareFrameworkPolitical ScienceCredentials Book:The Chomsky-Foucault Debate: On Human Nature Source: The Chomsky-Foucault Debate: On Human Nature
“Scientists are educated from a very early time and a very early age to believe that the greater scientist is the scientist who makes discoveries or theories that apply to the greatest ambit of things in the world. And if you've only made a very good theory about snails, or a very good theory about some planets but not about the universe as a whole, or about all the history of humankind, then you have in some sense accepted a lower position in the hierarchy of the fame of science as it's taught to you as a young student.” IfsWorldBelieveMadeWholeAgeYoungUniverseGreaterPositionStudentsTaughtPlanetsTheoryFameDiscoveryScientistVery GoodAcceptedEducatedHumankindHierarchySnailYoung Students Author:Richard Lewontin