SCIENCE, SPIRITUALITY, AND AYAHUASCA: THE PROBLEM OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND SPIRITUAL ONTOLOGIES IN THE ACADEMY
Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science February 12, 2017 DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12315 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Spirituality Consciousness Context archaeology Perspective graphical Social science Epistemology Anthropology |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key points | Argues that the demarcation between science and religion arises from the relations among consciousness, intentionality, and spirituality, and that science is permeable to spiritual ontologies. |
Abstract
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew from Amazonas, popularized in the last decades in part through transnational religious networks, but also due to interest in exploring spirituality through altered states of consciousness among academic schools and scientific researchers. In this article, the author analyzes the relation between science and religion proposing that the “demarcation problem” between the two arises from the relations among consciousness, intentionality, and spirituality. The analysis starts at the beginning of modern science, continues through the nineteenth century, and then examines the appearance of new schools in psychology and anthropology in the countercultural milieu of the 1960s. The author analyzes the case of ayahuasca against this historical background, first, in the general context of ayahuasca studies in the academic field. Second, he briefly describes three cases from Spain. Finally, he discusses the permeability of science to “spiritual ontologies” from an interdisciplinary perspective, using insights from social and cognitive sciences.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on ayahuasca, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The globalization of ayahuasca: Harm reduction or benefit maximization? | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Towards psychedelic apprenticeship: Developing a gentle touch for the mediation and validation of psychedelic-induced insights and revelations. | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca healing beyond the Amazon: the globalization of a traditional indigenous entheogenic practice | 2008 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Ayahuasca: Between Cognition and Culture Publicacions URV eBooks 2020
- God hasn’t died, it has merely been encapsulated – Psilocybin and ayahuasca in the psychedelic renaissance: Intersections between religion, indigenous cosmologies, spirituality, and science Social Compass December 1, 2024
- Psychedelics and naturalistic spirituality Philosophical Perspectives on Psychedelic Psychiatry September 19, 2024
- The neuropsychology of religious experience. A review of different scientific approaches to the phenomenon / Neuropsicología de la experiencia religiosa. Una revisión de distintas aproximaciones científicas al fenómeno Studies in Psychology Estudios de Psicología May 4, 2019
Cites 7
- Ayahuasca, Psychedelic Studies and Health Sciences: The Politics of Knowledge and Inquiry into an Amazonian Plant Brew Current Drug Abuse Reviews January 9, 2015
- Ayahuasca from Peru to Uruguay: Ritual Design and Redesign through a Distributed Cognition Approach Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 2015
- Psychoactive Substances and Paranormal Phenomena: A Comprehensive Review International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2012
- Anthropology of consciousness Cambridge University Press eBooks May 14, 2007
- ENTHEOGENS IN A RELIGIOUS CONTEXT: THE CASE OF THE SANTO DAIME RELIGIOUS TRADITION Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science August 26, 2014
and 2 more in the library