This commentary synthesizes findings from four articles exploring consciousness, meditative practices, and subtle physical phenomena. An article on fractals and consciousness1 proposes a theoretical link between consciousness and fractal processes, suggesting inherent limitations in modeling consciousness. An article on religious practice2 presents a study on the neurophysiological and...
In accordance with Bud (A.D.) Craig's theories, we maintain that ascending physiological signals in their temporal dynamics are a necessary prerequisite for human time judgments. Functional neuroimaging and psychophysiological evidence have increasingly demonstrated that the subjective judgment of time is based on the physical and emotional self. The psychological literature reveals how...
A Ganzfeld is a homogeneous visual field, devoid of any focal points. Such a stimulus has been used by researchers to study perceptual phenomena in the absence of changes in sensory structure. Others have used it to study altered states of consciousness (ASCs). Until now, these different facets have been studied separately with little attention for the emotional subjective experience. This...
In the 1970s, researchers and theoreticians of states of consciousness jointly discussed hypnosis and psychedelic alterations of consciousness, but recent research has mostly kept these topics apart. This paper discusses the similarities and differences of hypnosis and psychedelic alterations of consciousness, stressing that states of consciousness should not be defined by their preceding...
This study delves into the concept of consciousness in Taoism, focusing on how it reflects the flowing and harmonious state with the Tao, the fundamental principle governing the universe. By drawing from classical Taoist texts such as the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi, it explores Taoism’s unique understanding of consciousness, considering it to possess nonduality, fluidity, and harmony with...
This paper examines Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of mind, focusing on his relational and dialogical conception of subjectivity. The author discusses how Bakhtin has been embraced by the Western tradition of literary theory, particularly within the contexts of postmodernism and poststructuralism. He highlights the tension between Bakhtin as a theorist of discursive plurality and as a philosopher of...
How should accounts that stress the embodied, embedded and engaged character of human minds accommodate the role of rationality in human subjectivity? Drawing on Matthew Boyle’s contrast between ‘additive’ and ‘transformative’ conceptions of rationality, I argue that contemporary work on embodied cognition tends towards a problematic ‘additivism’ about the relationship between mature human...
Fluctuations in the presence, experiential quality and contents of consciousness occur naturally during sleep and wakefulness and are core features of the healthy human mind. The purpose of this article is to consider the possibility that such fluctuations, including mind wandering and dreaming, which we refer to collectively as spontaneous thoughts and experiences (STE), may also be important...
Abstract This article develops a conception of meaning in the sense of “meaning as interbeing,” i.e., meaning as an emerging property in the intersection between proto-meaning and epistemic frames. The foundational basis of this argument is built on two streams of thought, Deguchi’s relational ontology of the WE-turn and the meta-ontological perspective of what is discussed in this article as...
Iris Murdoch’s Wild Imagination returns to the land to focus more intently on Murdoch’s depictions of key moments of human interaction in landscape. With reference to The Good Apprentice, chapter 5 begins by charting Murdoch’s fascination, as a young philosopher, with the role of the body and sensory awareness as essential precursors to thought. It considers Murdoch’s early interest in the work...