Belief systems and other everyday phenomenology of primordial consciousness and its language
Michael S. Robbins
April 19, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9781351039628-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that primordial consciousness and its language underlie phenomena including psychosis, belief systems, altered states, and creativity, and that belief systems expressed in primordial consciousness resist modification by reflective logic, resembling delusions but often shared within cultural or political communities typically led by a guru or priest. |
Abstract
Primordial consciousness and its language undergirds numerous phenomena of everyday life. In addition to dreaming and mother-infant bonding, which were described in chapter 4 . Several of these are described, including the manifestly pathological (psychosis), and more ordinary phenomena including belief systems, ordinary and extreme, altered states of consciousness whose manifestations can seem normal or abnormal depending on contextual circumstances, and creativity. Belief systems expressed in primordial consciousness that are not amenable to modification by reflective thoughtful logic are described. They are similar to the delusions characteristic of psychosis except that they may be shared with others in a cultural or political community. They often involve a movement or cult or extreme religion, and the movement usually has a leader - a guru or a priest. An illustration of situational psychosis is presented as well as examples from the music and poetry of Nobel Prize laureate Bob Dylan.
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 |