On the Possibilities of Applying the Concept of Peak Experiences in the Psychology of Thinking
N. I. Nelyubin
Sibirskiy psikhologicheskiy zhurnal 2025 DOI: 10.17223/17267080/95/10 (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 | Argues that Maslow's concept of peak experiences retains heuristic value for anthropologically oriented psychology, helping it move beyond limiting epistemological frameworks toward a holistic view of human experience. The author contends that peak experiences can describe holistic, existentially toned mental activity beyond rational discursive practices, functioning as phenomenological companions and culminating moments of aesthetic-intuitive cognition that mark transcendence beyond the known, while leaving open questions about their cumulative potential and how to assess their constructiveness. |
Abstract
The subject of the article is the heuristic potential of the concept of peak experiences developed by A. Maslow. On the initiative of V.I. Kabrin, this concept returns to the center of research and applied interests of modern anthropologically oriented psychology, striving to overcome the epistemological stencils that limit the construction of a holistic view of man and his diverse phenomenological experience. Controversial questions are raised regarding the cumulative potential of peak experiences and the criteria for assessing their constructiveness. The possibility of applying the concept of peak experiences in describing human mental activity that goes beyond rationally organized discursive practices, activity that has a holistic nature and existential tonality is shown. Peak experiences in the context of thinking are considered by the author as phenomenological companions and moments of culmination of cognitive experience of an esthetic-intuitive nature, markers of transcendence beyond the boundaries of the known.
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 |