Franklin Merrell-Wolff proposes to give an abstract of his philosophy. He begins by making a distinction between psychological and epistemological criticism and proceeds to a presentation of the five Realizations that provide the epistemological foundation of his philosophy. He suggests that the basis for the dedication to the redemption of all creatures is not grounded exclusively in the quality of feeling, but that it may grow out of the nature of divine Reason.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues his discussion of the fourth Realization and elaborates upon its sense of Reason. He proceeds to a description of the introceptual form of mentation and intellectual rejuvenation made possible by the “imperience” of this Consciousness. He goes on to an analysis of Bucke’s Cosmic Consciousness and makes a distinction between “ontological consciousness” and “cosmic consciousness” and offers some personal observations relating to the features Bucke uses in describing the cosmic sense. He then comments about the unfairness of expecting infallibility of those who have made the breakthrough to transcendent consciousness.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues this series by acknowledging that he has yet to present any thoughts concerning the philosophic statement that grew out of his Realizations. He offers an analysis of the interaction between common intellectual activity and that contributed by the transcendental function. He then proceeds to present a brief sketch of Bucke’s thesis of the evolution of consciousness. He clarifies Bucke’s use of the terms ‘intuition’ and ‘self consciousness’, points out that Bucke failed to include “the sense of Liberation” in the list of features that characterize Cosmic Consciousness, notes that the list of those Bucke considered to have realized Cosmic Consciousness is inadequate, and emphasizes the insufficiency of the purely scientific treatment of mysticism by insisting that a profound religious attitude is an essential precondition favorable to the Awakening.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues the abstract by offering a critique of the scientific approach to religious subject matter. He elaborates at length on an article entitled “Metapsychiatry: The Confluence of Psychiatry and Mysticism,” written by Stanley R. Dean. He wholeheartedly commends the spirit of Dean’s handling of this subject matter, in spite of his tendency to view science as a too adequate judge of a consciousness that transcends conceptual cognition and his tendency to tie the whole material into the field of disease.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff discusses the evolution of the Monad through the mineral, vegetable, animal, and human conditions so that it may be prepared to take the next step into the beginning of Buddhahood. He offers a reinterpretation of the office of the Bodhisattva as that of alleviating the suffering of the Monad due to its attachment to the animal nature by reorienting it to its essential humanness, and beyond that to its Buddha nature. He conceives of man’s suffering as not due to a fundamental metaphysical error, or to the fact of evolution per se, but rather due to his lingering attachment to his animal nature. Shifting subjects, Wolff goes on to describe his fifth Realization and how through the power of the Current suffering can be assimilated and transformed.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff discusses the question as to whether thought is a barrier to mystical Realization. He suggests that certain kinds of thought may be a barrier, while other kinds of thought are premier aids. He makes a distinction between desire mind, monkey mind, and thought directed to the attainment of truth entirely apart from one’s interests or cravings. Wolff then presents an analysis of Jung’s theory of psychological types and suggests that the question of whether thought, or feeling for that matter, is a barrier or an aid to Realization may be relative to one’s psychological type.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues this series by again acknowledging that he has not yet entered upon the formulation of his abstract philosophic statement due to the intervention of the transcendent function, but he proposes to do so in this discourse. He discusses the importance of epistemological criticism and asserts that merely having a sense of certainty of the truth of a statement is not a sufficient criterion to judge the statement as true. He reiterates the critical importance of awakening a third function of cognition to satisfy the epistemological question regarding the possibility of metaphysical knowledge and addresses the problem of communicating that knowledge. He goes on to stress the importance of his five realizations as the basis of his philosophy, the sense of “I” that is realized, and its importance regarding one’s attitude toward the transition known as death.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff turns his attention to the first fundamental of his philosophy; namely, “Consciousness is original, self-existent, and constitutive of all things.” He affirms that this fundamental was the crowning feature of his fifth Realization, describes the nature of the High Indifference, and emphasizes the need for its redemptive power.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues the discussion of the three fundamentals of his philosophy. He describes two approaches to the derivation of the first fundamental: (1) by means of speculative thought; and (2) by means of transcriptive thought that taps that which is transcendent with respect to the sensible order. He maintains that the real ground of his philosophy is via the second approach, but goes on to present several ways by which it can be approached from the speculative level.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues to discuss the three fundamentals of his philosophy. He restates the motivating epistemological factors that led to his search for metaphysical knowledge and the authority of introception for one in whom it is active. He then turns his attention to an analysis of the second fundamental, which states that “the subject to consciousness transcends the object of consciousness.”

Franklin Merrell-Wolff confronts the problem of how to relate our relative, dualistic consciousness to the non-relative, absolute consciousness realized in the introceptual Awakening. He finds the Buddhist and Vedantin approaches to the problem inadequate and suggests that perhaps part of the meaning underlying the emphasis on renunciation after Realization is not simply to attain the redemption of all creatures, but a means of achieving a vaster, more comprehensive Enlightenment.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff discusses the problems of communicating an ineffable Realization; he suggests that introceptual content may be communicated indirectly by means of conceptual representation and directly by “induction.” He offers a transcriptive portrait of the immediate quale of imperience and closes by reciting the story of his mystical journey in poetic form.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues his discourse on the problem of communicating the immediate value and meaning of his imperiences. He reviews the previous presentation of religious values that precipitated into his relative consciousness, and affirms that the transcendent consciousness is not only a source of feeling values, but that it is also a source of divine knowledge not derived from experience. He offers a critique of scientific method and clarifies the difference between speculative and transcriptive thought. He then suggests that by differentiating among pointer concepts, container concepts, and noetic concepts we may be able to communicate transcendent knowledge with greater precision.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff continues his analysis by examining the nature of empirical cognition and the nature of introceptual cognition. He reviews Jung’s presentation of directed and autonomous thinking and adds to these a third form that he calls “nuclear thought.” He identifies this type of thought with Platonic universals and the Rationalist’s innate ideas, and affirms that it carries the value of a redemptive power. He asserts that the introceptual order of cognition is the source for the core meaning of this type of thought, but that its concepts are brought from experience or learning.