Nikolay Lossky and the Case for Mystical Intuition

The life and work of Nikolay Lossky, as presented in this monograph, is based not only on biographical and bibliographical information, but, first and foremost is presented in a two-pronged approach, the personal and systematic, which employs spiritual theology in its methodology. Nikolay Lossky’s spiritual development is described in the first part. The structure of the subsequent two parts is indicative of the systematic approach. The third part is focused on Lossky’s systematic defense of mystical intuition from philosophical and theological viewpoints. The chapters in the next part include Lossky’s speculation concerning mystical intuition through an analysis of the nature of the mind and the need for a supernatural transformation into mystical intuition. The final or fourth part, again uses the systematic approach to analyze Lossky’s conception of the spiritual development of the personality. Nikolay Lossky, along with an entire generation of Russian emigrants in Europe, interpreted their presence as a call from Providence to renew a dialogue with the Christian West. The Russian emigrants continued to strive for cognition of the Absolute as well as familiarization with the Trinity of a personal God that can be understood through mystical intuition.