The scientific study of consciousness encompasses more than 340 distinct theoretical proposals with no agreed framework for evaluating them against common standards. This paper proposes the Consciousness Theory Evaluation Protocol (CTEP) v1.0, a theory-neutral instrument applicable to any theory of consciousness regardless of its ontological commitments. CTEP organises evaluation around seven...
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are altered states sometimes accompanied by reports of veridical perception-accurate information seemingly obtained from a vantage point outside the body and ostensibly without conventional sensory input. While case collections and early laboratory studies suggest this possibility, replication under conventional laboratory protocols has been challenging. This...
bioRxiv Preprint ServerJune 2, 2026Ambra Pogliani, Alexandra Zachary, Lena Hall et al.
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Insight is commonly studied in laboratory paradigms as a sudden shift in understanding accompanied by characteristic “Aha!” experiences. However, such paradigms may not capture the full phenomenological range of insight as it occurs in naturalistic contexts. This study compared the phenomenology of insight across four contexts—psychedelic experiences, everyday-life insights, Compound Remote...
This paper develops a phenomenological ontology of objecthood centered on alternation. Its phenomenological thesis is that an object appears as one only through structured perceptual, temporal, bodily, practical, mnemonic, anticipatory, and intersubjective transitions. Its ontological thesis is more cautious: objecthood, as objecthood, is best understood as dynamic relational individuation...
Abstract Background and Aims Music has been associated with psychedelic experiences throughout human history, from ancient shamanic healing rituals to contemporary psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), and is considered integral for positive therapeutic outcomes. Yet optimized protocols and best practice standards for the use of music in PAT are lacking. Methods This interdisciplinary literature...
Abstract Background Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) is a clinically distinguishable bereavement-related condition characterized by persistent yearning, identity disruption, and impaired functioning, formalized in DSM-5-TR and ICD-11 (6L72) and empirically distinguishable from but frequently co-occurring with major depressive disorder. Approximately 7 to 10 percent of bereaved adults meet...
Cognitive neurofunctional disorders (NFDs) and dissociative amnesia (DA) are distinct clinical entities, although they may share common pathophysiological mechanisms, vulnerabilities, and risk factors. When carefully assessed, cognitive neurofunctional disorders appear to be relatively common in memory clinics, accounting for up to 20% of consultations. The widespread adoption of the term...
Contemporary education stands at a philosophical crossroads, beset by a profound crisis of meaning, ethical erosion, and an increasingly instrumental orientation that reduces human beings to economic units. This research undertakes a systematic philosophical reconstruction of contemporary education through the prism of Swami Vivekananda's Vedantic thought, a corpus of ideas that synthesises...
Purpose: Classical Sāṃkhya-Yoga holds that Puruṣa, pure consciousness, is eternally free, yet it also teaches a path of liberation from bondage. This article asks how Vācaspati Mishra (c. 9th–10th century CE), who commented on both the Sāṃkhya-Kārikā (Tattva-Kaumudī) and the Yoga Bhāṣya (Tattva Vaiśāradī), resolves this apparent paradox. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study offers a...
Introduction Large language models (LLMs) are becoming ubiquitous, offering scalable, responsive and seemingly empathic dialogue. While their therapeutic potential has attracted attention, emerging reports highlight risks of “AI-associated delusions,” where interactions with conversational agents appear to amplify psychotic thinking. These interactions may validate persecutory or grandiose...