Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Josef Parnas, Mads Gram Henriksen
Consciousness and Cognition July 1, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.05.010 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Consciousness Delusion Hallucination Ipseity disturbance model Psychopathology Psychosis Schizophrenia Self-disorders |
| Citations | 128 |
| Key points | Proposes that structural analogies between mysticism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders implicate a specific alteration of the structure of consciousness. |
Abstract
Mysticism and schizophrenia are different categories of human existence and experience. Nonetheless, they exhibit important phenomenological affinities, which, however, remain largely unaddressed. In this study, we explore structural analogies between key features of mysticism and major clinical-phenomenological aspects of the schizophrenia spectrum disorders-i.e. attitudes, the nature of experience, and the 'other', mystical or psychotic reality. Not only do these features gravitate around the issue of the basic dimensions of consciousness, they crucially seem to implicate and presuppose a specific alteration of the very structure of consciousness. This finding has bearings for the understanding of consciousness and its psychopathological distortions.