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California Institute of Integral Studies
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive
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An Open Mystery: Reflections On The Metaphysical Status Of The Participatory Approach, Jorge N. Ferrer
An Open Mystery: Reflections On The Metaphysical Status Of The Participatory Approach, Jorge N. Ferrer
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive
This paper provides an assessment and clarification of the metaphysical status of the participatory approach to transpersonal and spiritual phenomena (Ferrer, 2002, 2017a). To that end, I first respond to several criticisms of the approach issued by scholars in recent years; for instance, that it hides a perennialist metaphysics (e.g., Abramson, 2015) or that it is metaphysically vague (e.g., Taylor, 2021). After reviewing these critical discussions, I describe the open and minimalist nature of the participatory metaphysics, arguing that such features cultivate a fertile soil for transpersonal scholarship, human flourishing, and interreligious relations. Applying a biomimetic approach, I argue that …