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Frank Visser, graduated as a psychologist of culture and religion, founded IntegralWorld in 1997. He worked as production manager for various publishing houses and as service manager for various internet companies and lives in Amsterdam. Books: Ken Wilber: Thought as Passion (SUNY, 2003), and The Corona Conspiracy: Combatting Disinformation about the Coronavirus (Kindle, 2020).

Beyond Metaphysics?

A Critical Look at Enacting Philosophy

Frank Visser / ChatGPT

The Thesis: Philosophy as Lived Realization

In Beyond Metaphysics—Enacting Philosophy as Participation in Being, Brad Reynolds argues that philosophy should not remain confined to conceptual analysis or intellectual speculation. Instead, he proposes that philosophy must be enacted through lived realization, particularly through contemplative or spiritual practice. According to this view, the deepest philosophical questions—concerning consciousness, reality, and ultimate meaning—cannot be resolved through rational inquiry alone. They require direct experiential insight, typically associated with mystical or nondual awareness.

This perspective places Reynolds squarely within the orbit of the Integral and perennial traditions inspired by the work of Ken Wilber. In that tradition, philosophy functions partly as interpretation or orientation, but the decisive knowledge of reality comes through spiritual awakening. Meditation, contemplative disciplines, and transformative insight are therefore presented as essential tools for philosophical understanding.

There is an intuitive appeal to this position. Philosophy has historically been more than an abstract intellectual exercise. Ancient schools such as Stoicism or Buddhism explicitly linked philosophical reflection with forms of practice intended to reshape the practitioner�s perception of the world. Reynolds draws on this lineage to argue that philosophy becomes incomplete when it is reduced to purely theoretical discourse.

Yet the argument also raises significant philosophical problems. Once examined closely, the proposal to “enact philosophy” tends to blur important distinctions between experience, interpretation, and metaphysical claims about the nature of reality.

The Central Problem: Epistemic Privilege

A central difficulty in Reynolds� argument lies in the epistemic privilege granted to mystical experience. The reasoning structure often follows a familiar pattern:

• Reality is fundamentally spiritual or nondual.

• This deeper reality can be directly realized through contemplative practice.

• Philosophical critiques that deny this simply lack access to the relevant form of knowledge.

At first glance, this may appear to elevate experiential insight over abstract reasoning. In practice, however, it produces a self-sealing epistemology. If someone questions the metaphysical conclusions derived from mystical experience, the response is that they have not yet undergone the necessary realization. Disagreement is interpreted not as a legitimate intellectual objection but as evidence of insufficient spiritual development.

From the standpoint of philosophy of knowledge, this is a problematic move. It effectively shields the claim from criticism by redefining dissent as ignorance or lack of awakening. Once such a structure is in place, the theory becomes unfalsifiable. Any potential counterargument can be dismissed by appealing to the alleged authority of direct realization.

The difficulty is not that mystical experiences occur—they clearly do. The difficulty is that Reynolds treats them as a privileged epistemic pathway without providing independent justification for why they should function as authoritative sources of metaphysical knowledge.

Confusion Between Experience and Ontology

Closely related to this problem is a conceptual slide from phenomenology to ontology. Mystical traditions across cultures describe powerful experiences of unity, transcendence, or ego dissolution. Individuals who undergo such experiences often report a sense that they have directly encountered the ultimate nature of reality.

But an experience—even a powerful one—is still a psychological event. It takes place within the human cognitive system, shaped by neurological processes, cultural expectations, and interpretive frameworks. To move from the existence of such experiences to claims about the structure of the cosmos requires an additional step of argument.

Reynolds tends to move quickly from statements about the character of experience to conclusions about the nature of reality itself. Experiences of unity become evidence that reality is fundamentally One. Experiences of nonduality become confirmation that the universe itself is nondual.

This inference does not logically follow. The fact that the mind can generate a sense of unity does not establish that the universe is metaphysically unified. Modern neuroscience provides many examples of mental states that feel revelatory yet are clearly products of brain processes. The intensity or authority of an experience does not automatically grant it ontological significance.

What is at stake here is a common philosophical mistake: assuming that the structure of experience mirrors the structure of reality.

The “Enactment” Strategy

Reynolds frames his proposal in terms of “enacting philosophy.” This idea resonates with certain strands of contemporary thought, particularly theories emphasizing embodied cognition and the role of practice in shaping perception. In those frameworks, knowledge is not merely abstract representation but emerges through interaction with the world.

However, Reynolds employs the concept in a much stronger sense. For him, enactment is not merely a way of shaping cognition; it becomes a pathway to revealing the ultimate nature of reality. Spiritual practices are therefore treated as a kind of philosophical experiment whose results disclose metaphysical truths.

This move conflates two distinct propositions. The first is that practices such as meditation can profoundly influence perception and psychological experience. This claim is widely supported by research and is relatively uncontroversial. The second proposition is that these practices reveal the fundamental structure of the universe itself. That claim is far more ambitious and requires justification that Reynolds does not provide.

In other words, the fact that practices transform consciousness does not entail that they disclose metaphysical truths.

The Post-Metaphysical Claim That Isn�t

Another striking feature of Reynolds� argument is the claim that this approach moves “beyond metaphysics.” Yet the framework he presents remains deeply metaphysical.

It includes, implicitly or explicitly, a number of classic metaphysical propositions:

• the existence of a nondual ground of being

• an evolutionary unfolding of consciousness

• hierarchical levels or depths of awareness

These ideas form the backbone of the Integral worldview developed by Wilber and others. They are not anti-metaphysical; they constitute a sophisticated metaphysical system.

Labeling such claims “post-metaphysical” does not eliminate their speculative nature. Instead, it functions rhetorically, suggesting that the framework has somehow transcended philosophical debate when in fact it simply advances a particular set of metaphysical commitments.

In this respect, the essay resembles a broader pattern in contemporary spiritual philosophy: declaring metaphysics obsolete while quietly reintroducing a new metaphysical narrative under a different name.

The Absence of Methodological Discipline

A final issue concerns methodology. When philosophers or scientists make claims about the nature of reality, those claims are usually constrained by certain standards. They must be supported by empirical evidence, logical reasoning, or arguments that can be critically examined and potentially falsified.

Reynolds substitutes a different set of authorities: spiritual testimony, philosophical synthesis, and appeals to contemplative traditions. These sources may carry significance within religious or spiritual discourse, but they do not provide reliable methods for determining the structure of the universe.

The absence of clear methodological criteria means that almost any metaphysical conclusion can be justified by appealing to the authority of personal realization or ancient wisdom. Once that door is opened, philosophical inquiry risks collapsing into a competition between different spiritual interpretations of experience.

What the Essay Gets Right

Despite these criticisms, Reynolds� essay does highlight two points worth acknowledging. First, philosophy need not be purely abstract. Throughout history many philosophical traditions have emphasized the transformation of the individual as an integral part of philosophical practice. In that sense, the call to reconnect philosophy with lived experience has genuine merit.

Second, the study of consciousness should not ignore the richness of human experience, including contemplative states. Mystical and meditative experiences are real psychological phenomena that deserve careful investigation.

The problem arises only when such experiences are treated as direct evidence for metaphysical conclusions.

Conclusion

Beyond Metaphysics—Enacting Philosophy seeks to elevate spiritual realization as the ultimate form of philosophical inquiry. By emphasizing lived experience and contemplative practice, Brad Reynolds attempts to move philosophy beyond purely conceptual debate.

Yet the argument ultimately reproduces a familiar perennialist pattern. Mystical experience is granted epistemic authority, disagreement is interpreted as lack of realization, and metaphysical claims about nondual reality are presented as the natural outcome of spiritual insight.

In doing so, the essay does not truly move beyond metaphysics. Instead, it reintroduces traditional metaphysical ideas—now framed as the fruits of contemplative practice rather than philosophical speculation.

The deeper challenge remains unresolved: how to distinguish between transformative experiences that illuminate human psychology and claims that genuinely reveal the structure of reality. Until that distinction is clarified, the project of “enacting philosophy” risks becoming less a philosophical method than a sophisticated form of spiritual metaphysics.

Reynolds might reply his metaphysics is experience-based, so post-speculative metaphysics. Add a section to refute this explicitly.

Epilogue: The Claim of “Post-Speculative Metaphysics”

A likely response to the criticisms above is that Reynolds� position does not rely on speculative metaphysics at all. Instead, he might argue that his framework represents experience-based or post-speculative metaphysics. In this view, the metaphysical claims associated with nondual traditions are not abstract hypotheses about the universe but conclusions grounded in direct contemplative realization. The idea is that metaphysics ceases to be speculative once it is anchored in lived experience.

From this perspective, contemplative insight functions almost like a form of empirical observation. Just as scientific instruments reveal aspects of the physical world, spiritual practices are said to reveal the deeper structure of consciousness and reality. The metaphysical conclusions of the perennial tradition—nonduality, unity, the ground of being—are therefore presented as discoveries rather than speculations.

At first glance this seems to provide a methodological solution. If metaphysical claims arise from experience rather than abstract reasoning, then perhaps they escape the traditional problems associated with speculative philosophy. Yet on closer examination the argument fails to accomplish what it promises.

Why Experience Does Not Eliminate Speculation

The crucial issue is that experience alone cannot determine metaphysical interpretation. Experiences, including powerful contemplative ones, always require interpretation. The same type of experience can be explained in radically different ways depending on the conceptual framework used to understand it.

For example, a sense of unity or ego dissolution might be interpreted as:

• realization of a nondual cosmic ground

• a neurological shift in brain network activity

• a psychological state produced by meditation or psychedelics

• a culturally shaped form of altered consciousness

The experience itself does not dictate which interpretation is correct. The metaphysical conclusion—that the universe is fundamentally nondual—remains an additional theoretical step layered on top of the experience.

Calling such a conclusion “experience-based” does not remove its speculative character. It merely shifts the point at which speculation enters the argument. Instead of speculating directly about the universe, one first describes an experience and then speculates about what that experience means cosmologically.

In this sense, the move from mystical experience to metaphysical claim is structurally similar to earlier religious arguments that treated visions, revelations, or prophetic insight as evidence of ultimate reality.

The Problem of Interpretive Diversity

Another difficulty arises from the diversity of interpretations attached to similar experiences. Mystical or contemplative states appear across many traditions, yet the metaphysical conclusions drawn from them vary widely.

Buddhist interpretations often emphasize emptiness or the absence of inherent essence. Advaita Vedanta speaks of an underlying nondual Self. Christian mysticism may interpret similar experiences as union with a personal God. Modern neuroscience may describe them as altered patterns of neural integration.

If experience alone determined metaphysical truth, we would expect these interpretations to converge. Instead, they diverge dramatically. The variation suggests that cultural and philosophical frameworks play a decisive role in shaping the meaning assigned to the experience.

This undermines the claim that contemplative realization produces a uniquely reliable form of metaphysical knowledge.

Experience as Data, Not Proof

None of this means that contemplative experiences should be dismissed or ignored. On the contrary, they constitute important data about human consciousness. They reveal the remarkable plasticity of perception and the capacity of the mind to enter states of profound unity or dissolution of self.

But recognizing their psychological significance is different from treating them as proof of a cosmic ontology. Experiences can inform philosophical reflection, yet they do not by themselves establish metaphysical truths about the structure of the universe.

To treat them as such is to move beyond description into interpretation—and interpretation inevitably reintroduces speculation.

The Return of Metaphysics

For this reason, the notion of a “post-speculative metaphysics” grounded in contemplative realization ultimately collapses back into the very thing it seeks to transcend. The metaphysical claims remain speculative because they go beyond what the experience itself can demonstrate.

The only difference is rhetorical. Traditional metaphysics speculated about ultimate reality through abstract reasoning. The new version speculates about ultimate reality through the interpretation of subjective experience.

Either way, the metaphysical leap remains.

Thus the appeal to experience does not eliminate speculation. It simply relocates it—from philosophical argument to the interpretation of mystical insight. The result is still metaphysics, only now presented as if it had transcended the need for justification.