Understanding mystical experiences through the lens of entropy: introduction to the special issue on ‘mystical entropy’
Philosophical Psychology April 27, 2026 DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2026.2662200 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism Mystical experience |
| Keywords | Through-the-lens metering Lens geology Epistemology Aesthetics Cognitive science Psychoanalysis |
| Key points | Argues that mystical experiences are culturally shaped and best understood through historical and comparative analysis rather than universalist frameworks. |
Abstract
Scholars of religion have had a long-standing interest in the study of mystical experiences (Schmidt, 2003), dating back to the work of William James (James, 1902). James listed ineffability, noeti...
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mystical experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Vectorial Cerebral Hemisphericity as Differential Sources for the Sensed Presence, Mystical Experiences and Religious Conversions | 1993 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The epistemic innocence of psychedelic states. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mystical Experience and Religious Doctrine | 1982 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 26
- Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Psychopharmacology July 7, 2006
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 23, 2012
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: immediate and persisting dose-related effects. Psychopharmacology December 1, 2011
and 21 more in the library