Determining whether another system, biological or artificial, possesses phenomenal consciousness has long been a central challenge in consciousness studies. This attribution problem has become especially pressing with the rise of large language models and other advanced AI systems, where debates about "AI consciousness" implicitly rely on some criterion for deciding whether a given system is...
In some contemplative traditions, “extended cessation” (EC) refers to a state of advanced meditation in which the meditator intentionally suppresses their own consciousness and re-emerges with a profound sense of clarity and equanimity. Here, we present the first electrophysiological study of EC, in which five meditators underwent concurrent electroencephalography (EEG) and...
The hypothesis we present in the article is that philosophy of mind was conceived in the same context in which the Vienna Circle emerged, so that it was born and remains marked to this day by an underlying antimetaphysical axiom, namely: it is science that will respond definitively to the problem of mind. No matter how antagonistic the positions adopted over decades of discussion have been –...
Abstract Imagination plays various epistemic roles but can it help us address dream skepticism? This paper explores different conceptions of imagination – propositional, processual, and imagistic – and examines their relevance to the Cartesian dream argument. I distinguish between the phenomenology of dreaming and its epistemological threat, arguing that dream skepticism arises not from the...
The question haunting AI researchers today sounds simple: When will we create the first conscious machine? This is not science fiction anymore. Lawyers, ethicists, and policymakers are scrambling to address urgent questions as AI systems display behaviors that blur the line between simulation and genuine sentience (Chella, 2023; Hildt, 2023). This paper tackles three problems that keep me up at...
In Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu’s Twenty Verses, Vasubandhu’s mind-only philosophy offers a compelling alternative to realist accounts of intersubjectivity by arguing that shared perceptions do not require the existence of mind-independent objects. Drawing on Vasubandhu’s Twenty Verses and his responses to objections regarding spatial-temporal perception, intersubjectivity, and effective...
Introduction Aesthetic experiences under psychedelics are often described as vivid, emotionally powerful, and meaningful, yet they remain under-measured in psychometric research. This study aimed to refine and validate the Psychedelic Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire (PAEQ), a novel instrument designed to assess the aesthetic dimensions of acute psychedelic experiences. Methods A total of 365...
How does the mind lend itself to artistic creation and appreciation? How should we study minds and arts in ways that transform our understanding of both? This book examines the concepts of art and cognition from the complementary perspectives of philosophy, the empirical sciences, and the humanities. Central chapters combine examples of visual art, music, literature, and film with the...
The book Psychiatrie als Beziehungsmedizin – Ein ökologisches Paradigma (Fuchs, 2023) is an essential work in the field of phenomenological psychiatry. Thomas Fuchs manages, in a clear and pedagogical way, to offer the reader an argumentative path that weaves together different domains (philosophy of mind, biology, psychology and psychiatry) and multiple theories (systemic theory, autopoiesis,...
The scientific interest in spirituality has increased in recent years, paralleled by promising findings on the effects of spiritual experiences induced by psychedelics substances (PS), in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. However, these experiences may also bring challenges, depending on a variety of non-pharmacological variables. This article argues that an undiscerning use of PS to...