The Language of Inner Experience in Christian Mysticism

"Inner experience" at first sounds like a simple enough term, but the more we think about it, the more complex the linguistic and philosophical problems it raises. 1 Anyone who thinks that "experience" has a commonly agreed-on definition should take a look at the way the word has been used in the study of mysticism, let alone in wider philosophical discourse. When we talk about inner experience, furthermore, we refer not only to how something is perceived by a subject, but we also seem to suggest that this perception takes place in the absence of observable external sensations or testable stimuli. Recent philosophical and theological reflection on the nature of experience, especially experience of God, emphasizes how important, yet problematic, the issue remains. 2