Concepts of Space and Time in Philosophical and Mystical Teachings and in Modern Science
Natalia S. Zhirtueva
Voprosy Filosofii March 10, 2025 DOI: 10.21146/0042-8744-2025-3-191-197 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Prayer |
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Consciousness Prayer Space punctuation Natural archaeology Spacetime Epistemology Hierarchy |
| Key points | Argues that mystical consciousness offers a non-linear, non-Euclidean understanding of space and a present-focused, decelerating experience of time, contrasting with the accelerating time and hierarchical space of modern biological and social life. |
Abstract
The article provides a comparative analysis of ideas about space and time, formed in the philosophical and mystical teachings of the world, with those that are characteristic of modern science. The non-classical scientific paradigm has created a new understanding of the spatio-temporal organization of being, which is characterized by multidimensionality and relativity. There are unique features of space-time in inanimate, animate and social matter, which are studied by Physics, Biology and Social Sciences. Social space is characterized by hierarchy and the creation of clear boundaries, while mystical consciousness desire to destroy all distinctions by realizing the global unity of the existing. Mystical consciousness supports the idea of non-linearity, non-Euclidean biological space, which is characterized by the asymmetry of the left and right, lower and upper parts of the human body. If the biological and social time of a modern person is focused on acceleration, mystical time strives for total presence in the present, helps to live “here and now”. The psychopractices of prayer and meditative contemplation make a person’s life relaxed and peaceful, they are a natural way to slow down the biological clock, a powerful tool to combat stress.
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 |