Author Description

This is a collection of original essays designed to continue and expand the groundbreaking discussion begun in Katz's previous collections, Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis (OUP 1979) and Mysticism and Religious Traditions (OUP 1984). The publication of the earlier volumes established Katz as a leading authority on mysticism and a major figure in the study of comparative religion, and his approach to the subject has been both influential and controversial. Each of the ten essays included in Mysticism and Language analyzes the relationship between language and mystical experience in one of the world's great religious traditions. The essays are by some of the foremost authorities in the field, including Ninian Smart, William Alston, Moshe Idel, Bernard McGinn, Carl Ernst, Ewert Cousins, Steven Katz, Bernard Faure, Stephen Phillips, and Bimal Matilal.