Approaches to Altered States of Consciousness in Contemporary Western Science and Technology
Birgit Menzel
Journal of anomalistics June 1, 2018 DOI: 10.23793/zfa.2018.9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Keywords | Altered state Consciousness Environmental ethics Social science Engineering ethics Epistemology Cognitive science |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Research on ASC has expanded with both reductionist and integrative approaches, exemplified by Transhumanism and the Systems View of Life. |
Abstract
This article presents a discussion of publications in Anglo-American and German research, mainly since 2000, on topics related to Altered States of Consciousness (ASC). It is motivated by an unprecedented expansion of brain-research which has fostered a boom of reductionist models of the human mind with visions of a technologically augmented humanity and numerous successful neuro-enterprises. At the same time a new movement has emerged toward integrative approaches to ASC, also toward a reconciliation of science, the humanities and spirituality. In the first part, a number of specialized studies is described, followed by an overview of four comprehensive new textbooks which offer comprehensive basic models of explanation for the question of consciousness. The second part contains a discussion of two diametrically opposed approaches to ASC, the project of Transhumanism as a movement in favor of neuroscience in the service of Neuro-enterprise, and Fritjof Capra’s and Pier Luigi Luisi’s Systems View of Life which is paradigmatic for an integral approach to ASC.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on altered states of consciousness, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Subjective Effects of Psychedelics Are Necessary for Their Enduring Therapeutic Effects. | 2020 | Review | |
| Psychobiology of Altered States of Consciousness. | 2005 | Review | |
| Intrinsic Brain Activity in Altered States of Consciousness | 2008 | Review | |
| Dynamic functional connectivity and brain metastability during altered states of consciousness | 2017 | Review | |
| A default mode of brain function in altered states of consciousness. | 2013 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 5
- Varieties of anomalous experience: Examining the scientific evidence. American Psychological Association eBooks 2000
- The effects of psilocybin and MDMA on between-network resting state functional connectivity in healthy volunteers Frontiers in Human Neuroscience May 27, 2014
- Yogic Perception, Meditation and Altered States of Consciousness Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften eBooks 2009
- Experience as event: event cognition and the study of (religious) experiences Religion, Brain & Behavior June 9, 2016
- Drugs, altered states, and musical consciousness:reframing time and space Oxford University Press eBooks July 28, 2011