Approaches to Altered States of Consciousness in Contemporary Western Science and Technology
Journal of anomalistics June 1, 2018 Birgit Menzel 1 citation
A discussion of Anglo-American and German publications since 2000 on Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) examines an expansion of brain research that has promoted reductionist models of the mind and visions of technologically augmented humanity, alongside a new movement toward integrative approaches reconciling science, humanities, and spirituality. The first part describes specialized studies and four comprehensive textbooks offering basic explanatory models for consciousness. The second part contrasts two opposed approaches: Transhumanism, which advances neuroscience in service of neuro-enterprise, and Fritjof Capra’s and Pier Luigi Luisi’s Systems View of Life, paradigmatic for an integral approach to ASC.