A Comparative Model of Mysticism: Cognitive Neuroscience, Phenomenal Experiences, and Noetic Accounts
Hemal P. Trivedi
Archive for the Psychology of Religion July 26, 2024 DOI: 10.1177/00846724241265870 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Neurocognitive Psychology of religion Epistemology Cognition Psychoanalysis Hallucinogen Theology |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Proposes that a model integrating neurocognitive mechanisms, phenomenal experiences, and noetic accounts can identify universal and contextual components of ego-dissolution in mysticism, offering an alternative to the essentialist-contextualist debate. |
Abstract
This article proposes a model of comparative mysticism that bases its rationale for comparison in the dynamic interaction between three components: neurocognitive mechanisms and substrates, phenomenal experiences, and noetic accounts. In examining the phenomenon of ego - dissolution ( EDn ), using this model, a scholar can identify universal and contextual components of a mystic’s experiences. The neurocognitive component is derived from neuroscientific studies including brain injury, psychedelics, and meditative practices. The phenomenal and noetic components are derived from personal accounts as narrated by the mystics themselves. These three components will be applied to the ego - dissolution experiences of the modern Indian mystic Sadhguru (1957–Present), the medieval Spanish mystic Teresa of Ávila (1515–1583), and individuals, including scientists, using the psychedelics psilocybin and LSD. This model should introduce an alternative approach to comparative mysticism as a response to the long-standing debate between Walter T. Stace’s essentialist model and Steven T. Katz’s contextualist model, respectively. In particular, the neurocognitive component should function as a bridge providing a deeper level of analysis encompassing and undermining differences between universalist and contextualist reductions. The advent of comparative mysticism may be seen as a collaborative effort that is multidisciplinary in nature, contributing to theology, religious studies, philosophy, history, cognitive neuroscience, and many other disciplines.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 14
- Interoceptive inference, emotion, and the embodied self Trends in Cognitive Sciences October 12, 2013
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
- Mapping the self in the brain's default mode network Neuroimage February 15, 2016
- Increased Global Functional Connectivity Correlates with LSD-Induced Ego Dissolution. Current Biology April 13, 2016
and 9 more in the library