The Verifiability of Daoist Somatic Mystical Experience

Datos Bibliográficos

ID22109308
AutoresWen Chen (0000-0002-6839-8890, School of Ethnology and Sociology, Yunnan University; Kunming City College), Wen Qiang Chen (0000-0001-5542-9849, Yunnan University), Xiaoxing Zhang (0000-0003-2257-9845, Yunnan University)
Año2025
Volumen12
Número0
Fecha de publicación2025-05-27
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaErgo an Open Access Journal of Philosophy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2330-4014 • E-ISSN: 2330-4014
EditorialUniversity of Michigan Library (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.3998/ergo.7657
OpenAlexW4410764680
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas37

Mystical religious experiences typically purport to engage with the transcendent and often claim to involve encounters with spiritual entities or a detachment from the material world. Daoism diverges from this paradigm. This paper examines Daoist mystical experiences of bodily transformations and explores their epistemological implications. Specifically, we defend the justificatory power of Daoist somatic experiences against the disanalogy objection. The disanalogy objection posits that mystical experiences, in contrast to sense perceptions, are not socially verifiable and thereby lack prima facie epistemic value. We argue that some Daoist mystical bodily states, being essentially spatiotemporal, are exempt from this challenge. This leads to a broader understanding of mysticism and offers a partial resolution to the disanalogy objection

Art · Biology · Literature · Mysticism · Somatic cell · Traditional medicine · Chinese history and philosophy · Medicine · Philosophy · Psychology · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices · Genetics