Mystical Epistemology: How Do We Know the Unknowable?

By NICOLE LAU

Introduction: The Paradox of Mystical Knowledge

Mystical epistemology confronts the fundamental paradox: How do we know what transcends knowledge? How can the ineffable be known? How does the finite mind grasp the infinite? Traditional epistemology—the study of knowledge—assumes a subject knowing an object through concepts, evidence, and reasoning. But mystical knowing claims to transcend this subject-object structure, to know through direct realization rather than conceptual understanding, to grasp what cannot be grasped by thought. This is not irrationality but a different mode of knowing, not the absence of knowledge but knowledge of a different order.

Understanding mystical epistemology reveals that there are multiple valid ways of knowing, that rational knowledge is necessary but not sufficient, that some truths can only be known through direct experience and transformation of the knower, and that the deepest knowing is not information about reality but realization as reality. This transforms epistemology from the study of how subjects know objects to the recognition that ultimate knowing transcends and includes both subject and object in non-dual awareness.

Modes of Knowing

1. Rational/Conceptual Knowing

Method: Logic, analysis, concepts, reasoning, evidence
Object: Facts, relationships, abstract principles
Verification: Logical consistency, empirical evidence, peer review
Strengths: Precise, communicable, cumulative, testable
Limitations: Cannot grasp the ineffable, the whole, or direct experience
Example: Scientific knowledge, mathematical proofs, philosophical arguments

2. Empirical/Sensory Knowing

Method: Observation, measurement, experimentation
Object: Physical phenomena, sensory data
Verification: Repeatability, measurement, prediction
Strengths: Grounded in experience, testable, practical
Limitations: Limited to what can be sensed or measured
Example: Scientific observation, everyday perception

3. Intuitive Knowing

Method: Direct apprehension without reasoning, immediate insight
Object: Patterns, wholes, meanings, essences
Verification: Coherence with experience, fruitfulness of results
Strengths: Grasps wholes, sees patterns, immediate
Limitations: Difficult to communicate, can be mistaken
Example: Artistic insight, mathematical intuition, moral sense

4. Mystical/Non-Dual Knowing

Method: Direct realization, contemplation, dissolution of subject-object duality
Object: Ultimate reality, the ineffable, Being itself
Verification: Transformation of the knower, consistency across traditions, lived realization
Strengths: Knows what concepts cannot grasp, transforms the knower
Limitations: Ineffable, requires personal realization, cannot be proven to others
Example: Enlightenment, mystical union, gnosis

The Structure of Mystical Knowing

Beyond Subject-Object

Ordinary Knowing: Subject (knower) knows object (known) through concepts—triadic structure.

Mystical Knowing: Subject and object dissolve into non-dual awareness—the knower, known, and knowing are one.

Example: In ordinary knowing, you know about love. In mystical knowing, you are love—knower and known are not separate.

Direct vs Mediated

Mediated Knowing: Knowing through something else—concepts, language, representations.

Direct Knowing: Immediate apprehension without mediation—knowing by being.

Example: You can know about fire through description (mediated) or by being burned (direct).

Transformative Knowing

Informational Knowing: Adds information without changing the knower.

Transformative Knowing: Changes the knower in the act of knowing—you become what you know.

Example: Knowing about enlightenment vs being enlightened—the latter transforms you completely.

The Apophatic Path

Via Negativa: Knowing Through Unknowing

Method: Systematically negating all concepts and attributes to approach what cannot be conceptualized.

Logic: If God/Reality is infinite, any finite concept limits and distorts. Therefore, negate all concepts.

Process:

1. God is good (affirmation)
2. But not good in any way we understand (negation)
3. Beyond both good and not-good (negation of negation)
4. Enter the cloud of unknowing

The Divine Darkness

Pseudo-Dionysius: God is known in darkness, in unknowing, beyond all affirmation and negation.

Paradox: The more you know God, the more you realize God is unknowable—knowledge increases unknowing.

Result: Mystical knowing is unknowing—not ignorance but knowing beyond concepts.

The Cloud of Unknowing

Teaching: Place a cloud of forgetting between you and all created things, a cloud of unknowing between you and God.

Method: Love can reach God where knowledge cannot—naked intent toward God without concepts.

Result: Knowing through love, not through thought.

Verification of Mystical Knowledge

The Problem

Challenge: How do we verify mystical claims if they transcend concepts and can't be proven empirically?

Skeptical Response: Mystical "knowledge" is just subjective experience, delusion, or brain states.

Mystical Response: Different modes of knowing require different modes of verification.

Criteria for Verification

1. Transformation of the Knower

• Genuine mystical knowing transforms the person—increased wisdom, compassion, peace
• False mystical claims don't produce transformation
• "By their fruits you shall know them"

2. Cross-Cultural Consistency

• Genuine mystical insights appear across cultures and traditions
• The perennial philosophy—core truths recognized universally
• Example: Non-duality, unity, ineffability appear in all mystical traditions

3. Coherence with Experience

• Mystical knowledge coheres with and illuminates ordinary experience
• It makes sense of what was previously mysterious
• It integrates rather than contradicts other forms of knowing

4. Pragmatic Fruitfulness

• Does this knowing lead to wisdom, compassion, effective action?
• Does it help navigate life more skillfully?
• Does it reduce suffering and increase flourishing?

5. Personal Realization

• Ultimately, mystical knowledge must be verified through your own direct experience
• You can't prove it to others, but you can know it yourself
• "Taste and see"

The Role of Concepts

Necessary but Insufficient

Preparation: Concepts prepare the mind, clear confusion, point in the right direction.

Limitation: Concepts cannot capture the reality they point toward—the finger is not the moon.

Clarification: After mystical realization, concepts help clarify, communicate, integrate.

The Ladder

Wittgenstein's Image: Concepts are like a ladder—you climb it to reach the view, then throw it away.

Application: Use concepts to approach mystical knowing, then let them go in direct realization.

Return: After realization, pick up the ladder again to help others climb.

Skillful Means

Buddhist Concept: Teachings are skillful means (upaya), not literal truth but tools for realization.

Application: Concepts are tools, not truths—use them skillfully, don't cling to them.

Mystical Knowing Across Traditions

Advaita Vedanta: Jnana (Knowledge)

Teaching: Ultimate knowledge is recognizing Atman (Self) and Brahman (Absolute) are one.

Method: Self-inquiry ("Who am I?"), discrimination between real and unreal, meditation.

Result: Direct realization "I am That" (Tat Tvam Asi)—knowing by being.

Buddhism: Prajna (Wisdom)

Teaching: Prajna is direct insight into emptiness (sunyata) and dependent origination.

Method: Meditation, contemplation, koan practice (Zen).

Result: Seeing through the illusion of separate self, recognizing the empty, luminous nature of mind.

Christian Mysticism: Gnosis

Teaching: Gnosis is direct experiential knowledge of God, mystical union.

Method: Contemplative prayer, via negativa, surrender.

Result: Union with God, knowing God by participation, not by concepts.

Sufism: Ma'rifa (Gnosis)

Teaching: Ma'rifa is direct knowledge of Allah through the heart, beyond rational knowledge ('ilm).

Method: Dhikr (remembrance), purification of heart, love.

Result: Fana (annihilation of ego) and baqa (subsistence in God)—knowing through union.

The Perennial Philosophy

Common Core: Across traditions, mystical knowing involves:

• Transcendence of subject-object duality
• Direct realization beyond concepts
• Recognition of ultimate unity
• Ineffability—cannot be fully expressed in words
• Transformation of the knower

Integrating Ways of Knowing

The Hierarchy of Knowing

Not Rejection: Mystical knowing doesn't reject other modes but transcends and includes them.

Levels:

1. Sensory knowing: Foundation, necessary but limited
2. Rational knowing: Builds on sensory, adds concepts and logic
3. Intuitive knowing: Grasps wholes and patterns
4. Mystical knowing: Direct realization of ultimate reality

Integration: Each level is valid for its domain; mystical knowing is highest but includes all others.

Complementarity

Different Domains: Different modes of knowing are appropriate for different questions.

Examples:

• Science for physical phenomena
• Philosophy for conceptual clarity
• Art for beauty and meaning
• Mysticism for ultimate reality

Integration: Use each mode appropriately; don't confuse domains.

Practical Cultivation

Preparing for Mystical Knowing

1. Study: Learn from traditions, understand the territory
2. Practice: Meditation, contemplation, prayer—create conditions
3. Purification: Ethical living, shadow work, clearing obstacles
4. Guidance: Work with teachers who have realized what you seek
5. Patience: Mystical knowing cannot be forced, only prepared for

The Moment of Realization

Grace: Ultimately, mystical knowing is received, not achieved—it's grace, not accomplishment.

Recognition: Often experienced as recognition—"I've always known this" rather than learning something new.

Certainty: Carries absolute certainty—you know that you know, beyond doubt.

After Realization

Integration: The real work begins—integrating realization into life
Clarification: Using concepts to clarify and communicate what was realized
Embodiment: Living from the realization, not just having had the experience
Service: Helping others realize what you've realized

Conclusion

Mystical epistemology reveals that knowing the unknowable is not contradiction but paradox—a different mode of knowing that transcends yet includes conceptual understanding. Through direct realization, non-dual awareness, and transformation of the knower, mystical knowing grasps what rational thought cannot: the ineffable, the infinite, ultimate reality itself. This is not irrationality but trans-rationality, not the absence of knowledge but knowledge of the highest order. The verification comes not through proof but through transformation, not through argument but through realization, not through convincing others but through your own direct experience. The path integrates all modes of knowing—sensory, rational, intuitive, mystical—recognizing that each reveals what the others cannot, and that the deepest knowing is not information about reality but realization as reality, not knowing about the unknowable but being the unknowable knowing itself.

NICOLE LAU is a researcher and writer specializing in Western esotericism, Jungian psychology, and comparative mysticism.