Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science
November 21, 2018
R. Jones
. Neuroscientific scanning of meditators is taken as providing data on mystical experiences. However, problems concerning how the brain and consciousness are related cast doubts on whether any understanding of the content of meditative experiences is gained through the study of the brain. Whether neuroscience can study the subjective aspects of meditative experiences in general is also...
Theological Reflections Euro-Asian Journal of Theology
August 25, 2018
A. Rudnytska
The article raises the question of the "polemical semantic meaning" of the term "mysticism" and the problems associated with modern acute methodological discussions about the "mystical" as a subject of religious research within the framework of two epistemological paradigms - "essentialist" and "constructivist".
Philosophy Study
April 28, 2018
Marc Jean-Bernard
The philosophical horizon of this essay is theoretically comparative and hermeneutically dialogic. Its main philosophical and theological tonality expresses, in first person and through three discursive moments, the differentiated fusion of horizons between phenomenological and grammatical description and understanding of experience. After a philosophical overture—outlining the éthos of the...
March 28, 2018
Dylan Evans
The distinction between jouissance and desire is first developed in the seminar on the formations of the unconscious, in the sessions of March 1958. From Kantian ethics to mystical experience, from frigidity to racism: judging by the range of the contexts in which it appears, the concept of jouissance is certainly versatile. During the course of Jacques Lacan&s;s teaching, jouissance is used in...
March 26, 2018
Colin Stanley
5 citations
When Colin Wilson died in December 2013, it was suggested by one obituary writer that, despite the seemingly diverse subject matter of his books, his legacy lay in the field of consciousness studies. This is undoubtedly true and in Super Consciousness Wilson, nearing the end of his creative life, decided to summarise his major ideas. Although first published in Japanese in 2007 as The Search...
Medieval Mystical Theology
January 2, 2018
A. Dupont
1 citation
The current article addresses the question concerning Augustine’s mysticism from two perspectives: practice and theory. In the Confessiones, Augustine recounts how he reached an experience of God – the ‘Ostia-ecstasy’, shortly after his baptism. After an extensive state of the art on the debate of Augustine’s mysticism, the first part of this article studies Confessiones IX, 23–6, in which...
Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences
2018
Frederick S. Barrett, Roland R. Griffiths
268 citations
This chapter begins with a brief review of descriptions and definitions of mystical-type experiences and the historical connection between classic hallucinogens and mystical experiences. The chapter then explores the empirical literature on experiences with classic hallucinogens in which claims about mystical or religious experiences have been made. A psychometrically validated questionnaire is...
Religion, Brain & Behavior
December 22, 2017
David L. R. Maij, Michiel van Elk, Uffe Schjoedt
32 citations
We explored the effects of alcohol on expectancy-driven mystical and quasi-mystical experiences by manipulating participants’ expectations. By using the so-called God Helmet suggestion, participants were led to believe that a placebo brain stimulation could elicit mystical experiences. In this pre-registered field study, we set out to test whether alcohol could increase participants’...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
October 11, 2017
Roland R. Griffiths, Matthew W. Johnson, William A. Richards et al.
528 citations
Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences with participant-attributed increases in well-being. However, little research has examined enduring changes in traits. This study administered psilocybin to participants who undertook a program of meditation/spiritual practices. Healthy participants were randomized to three groups (25 each): (1) very low-dose (1 mg/70 kg on sessions 1 and 2)...
September 25, 2017
P. Sicard
The authors trace the history of the abbey, but focuses on the canons’ life and ministry, theology, biblical exegesis during the twelfth century, concluding with an examination of reception of Victorine scholarship in the later Middle Ages.