The A priori in Otto’s Notion of Religion and Mysticism

The article grapples with Otto’s idea of unity and diversity in Mysticism. On the one hand, he believes in the diversity of Mysticisms and, on the other hand, he contends that various forms of Mysticism can be considered as a united body. Various forms of Mysticism, as he asserts, is formed in a realm beyond different cultures, ethnic groups and lands. Otto claims that this can be explained by appealing to a realm beyond the empirical. In this article, I shall explore the roots and consequences of this idea. It will be shown that Otto’s idea has a Kantian point of departure. Besides, it is a Platonic as well as Lutheran idea. Finally, I will argue that, understood this way, there is room for a comparison between Otto’s idea and the idea of eternality of the self in Islamic philosophy.