The Logic of Enlightenment

Subtitled 'a cognitive theory of spirituality', this searching and analytical book should, according to its own argument, have been subtitled 'a non-conceptual theory of spirituality.' It ranges over philosophical and spiritual themes from East and West involving our fundamental orientation in life, the nature of the self, paradox and meaning. Writers like Tolstoy have arrived at the limits of logic and rationality and suffer a loss of meaning that can only be transcended through a new form of perception and understanding as given in mystical experience, which the author explores. The self is recontextualised within the Self, the separation inherent in the mental and conceptual is transcended. This process highlights the limitations of Western philosophy, encapsulated in the Upanishads: 'that which is not comprehended by the mind but by which the mind comprehends - know that to be Brahman.' Meister Eckhart realised this, but not Descartes or David Hume. They did not arrive at a state of pure consciousness, which is the underlying feature of meditation.

Henley explores the nature of paradox and contradiction, and it is here that there is a large gap in his reading, namely Iain McGilchrist's work The Master and his Emissary, with its discussion of the different capacities of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Paradoxes are generated by the very operating system of the left hemisphere, but can be understood intuitively by the right (the same applies to jokes). So part of the argument attributed solely to mystical experience can also be resolved by understanding the relative roles of the hemispheres. The rest has to do with the development of self-awareness through spiritual practice that transcends thought so as to allow a direct experience of pure consciousness or the Tao or Atman. This is not so much a conceptual change (p. 146) as a move beyond concepts and indeed the existential choices of continental philosophy (although, as he points out, it is related to the fall and redemption of man). So the level of enlightenment involves 'not only knowing who you are, but also a higher form of intelligence' (p. 205). Given that enlightenment is by definition inconceivable, it can only be represented by symbols, which is what religions have done. For Henley, the path involves surrendering the primacy of conceptual thought (of which this book is full!) and taking up a spiritual practice that puts one consciously on the path. This is a stimulating exploration for readers conditioned by Western rationality.