A tenured West Shore Community College professor recently had an essay published. Dr. Matt Sanderson, professor of philosophy, wrote “Philosophy of Mysticism: Do Mystical Experiences Justify Religious Beliefs?”
The website that published the essay is called 1000-Word Philosophy. A popular site utilized by both students and professors, the essays are relatively short and written by experts in the field in easy to understand language. The website primarily takes essays submitted from instructors teaching undergraduate philosophy courses. “One of my research specialties is mysticism, and I noticed the site did not have an essay on the topic,” stated Sanderson.
Dr. Sanderson was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. He received his bachelor’s degree from Towson University where he double majored in philosophy and religious studies, as well as psychology. He obtained his master’s and PhD in philosophy from Southern Illinois University- Carbondale. Dr. Sanderson came to West Shore in 2007, and since he has presented essays in over 40 conferences and has published journals in multiple publications, including International Studies in Philosophy.
Sanderson added “Mystical experiences are a unique type of religious or spiritual experience: they are experiences where all things seem to be ‘one’ or interconnected in some way. There are good reasons to think mystical experiences are genuine or ‘real’ in the sense that people experience what they believe they experience.”
To read the essay, visit https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2023/07/31/philosophy-of-mysticism/