LIMITATIONS ON THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF DRUG-ENABLED MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES: with Virginia Ballesteros, “Applied Mysticism: A Drug-Enabled Visionary Experience against Moral Blindness”; and Richard H. Jones, “Limitations on the Scientific Study of Drug-Enabled Mystical Experiences.”
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mystical experience Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that the philosophical issues surrounding drug-induced mystical experiences warrant reexamination in light of renewed scientific interest, and examines whether such experiences are caused by drugs, whether they are the same in nature as other mystical experiences, and whether their inducibility affects mystical cognitive claims. |
Abstract
Scientific interest in drug‐induced mystical experiences reemerged in the 1990s. This warrants reexamining the philosophical issues surrounding such studies: Do psychedelic drugs cause mystical experiences? Are drug‐induced experiences the same in nature as other mystical experiences? Does the fact that mystical experiences can be induced by drugs invalidate or validate mystical cognitive claims? Those questions will be examined here. An overview of the scientific examination of drug‐induced mystical experiences is included, as is a brief overview of the history of the use of psychedelic drugs in religion.
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 6
- Philosophy and classic psychedelics: A review of some emerging themes Journal of Psychedelic Studies January 21, 2022
- Meaningful Psychedelic Experiences Predict Increased Moral Expansiveness. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs March 12, 2025
- Secular Mysticism Religions July 14, 2022
- Factor analysis of the MEQ43 suggests non-psychedelic mystical experiences are different from psychedelic mystical experiences Consciousness, Spirituality & Transpersonal Psychology November 17, 2023
- Psychedelic Mystical Experiences Are Authentic Religions October 11, 2025
and 1 more in the library
Cites 34
- 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
- Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: immediate and persisting dose-related effects. Psychopharmacology December 1, 2011
- Mystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later Journal of Psychopharmacology May 30, 2008
and 29 more in the library