Re-expanding the phenomenology of hallucinations: lessons from sixteenth-century Spain
Mental Health, Religion & Culture February 16, 2010 DOI: 10.1080/13674670903295093 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Citations | 11 |
| Key points | Argues that contemporary psychological research acknowledges many phenomenological properties of hallucinations identified by St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila, but neglects certain experiences such as 'internal voices,' 'soundless voices,' and 'voices that save,' and the potential for hallucinations to communicate novel information. |
Abstract
The paradigm within which hallucinations are studied, and the explanatory frameworks employed, may bias the phenomenological analysis of these experiences. After introducing the new term, hallucination, this paper undertook an inter-disciplinary study of the phenomenology of hallucinations identified by the sixteenth-century theologians, St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila. It was examined whether the phenomenological properties they highlighted are identified and addressed by contemporary psychological research. Many of these properties were indeed found to be acknowledged and studied by contemporary research in psychiatric patients, as well as in healthy individuals during hypnagogia, near-death experiences and at times of stress. However, many experiences, such as “internal voices,” “soundless voices,” and “voices that save,” were found to be neglected by contemporary research, as was the potential for hallucinations to communicate novel/original information. Finally, it was examined how these phenomenological insights may be “front-loaded” into future experimental designs.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Spiritual transformation after near-death experiences. Spirituality in Clinical Practice March 1, 2014
- Interdisciplinary approaches to the phenomenology of auditory verbal hallucinations. Schizophrenia Bulletin July 2014
- Stop, look, listen: the need for philosophical phenomenological perspectives on auditory verbal hallucinations. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience April 9, 2013
Cites 8
- Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin Brain January 15, 2004
- The Near-Death Experience Scale The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease June 1, 1983
- Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century 2020
- NEAR‐DEATH EXPERIENCES AND SPIRITUALITY Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science June 2, 2006
- In a dark time: Development, validation, and correlates of the Durham hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations questionnaire 2009
and 3 more in the library