The Cross‐Cultural Evidence on “Extreme Behaviors”
Jean E. Jackson
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences August 1, 2009 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04536.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 7 |
| Key points | Proposes a typology of intentional "extreme" body/mind alterations and argues that meaningful dialogue between Western and Indo-Tibetan medicine requires rethinking biomedicine's physicalist assumptions and "evidence-based medicine," while guarding against Western intellectual hegemony that could colonize non-Western medical traditions. |
Abstract
Many kinds of body/mind practices are capable of producing remarkable behaviors and altered body states. A typology of such behaviors and states, defined as observable and intentional "extreme" alterations to the body, is presented. Epistemological and methodological issues are discussed: limitations of observational data, and role of meaning, intentionality, and consciousness. Rapprochement between Western medicine and Indo-Tibetan medicine requires rethinking biomedicine's radical grounding in physicality and reliance on "evidence-based medicine," and guarding against an ethnocentric Western intellectual hegemony motivating medical science and clinical practice to colonize and subvert non-Western traditions like Indo-Tibetan Buddhist medicine.
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Mechanisms of Yogic Practices in Health, Aging, and Disease Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine A Journal of Translational and Personalized Medicine September 1, 2010
- Divine kink: A consideration of the evidence for BDSM as spiritual ritual International Journal of Transpersonal Studies September 1, 2019