Seeing in Visionary and Mystical Experience: A Perceptual and Cognitive-Semantic Account
Cognitive Semantics September 19, 2022 DOI: 10.1163/23526416-bja10030 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mystical experience |
| Key points | Proposes that during extrovertive visionary and mystical experiences, Talmyan concept structuring in visual experience is largely or totally suspended, except for the perspective point. |
Abstract
According to Stocker (in press), seeing in visual experience (visual perception and visual imagery) is organized by Talmyan concept structuring. Here, it is proposed that during seeing in extrovertive visionary experience and extrovertive mystical experience, this visual concept structuring is largely or totally suspended—except for the perspective point (pp), which seems to remain in place in all human seeing. Complemented with cognitive-semantic analysis, characterizations of extrovertive visionary experience draw from the writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley, and characterizations of extrovertive mystical experience additionally from the theologian Rudolph Otto and the philosopher Walter Stace. It is also examined how well extrovertive visionary experience and extrovertive mystical experience are captured with altered-state-of-consciousness questionnaires. Potential benefits for the mind from temporary suspension of Talmyan concept structuring are discussed.
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
Cited by 2
- The revival of the psychedelic experience scale: Revealing its extended-mystical, visual, and distressing experiential spectrum with LSD and psilocybin studies Journal of Psychopharmacology October 31, 2023
- Mystical dynamics: renewal, luminous light, and ego disintegration as key features associated with mystical oneness—a psychometric analysis using the PES100 in controlled psychedelic studies Religion, Brain & Behavior March 31, 2026
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