León and Zahavi (2023) have made a compelling case for the necessity of philosophy — and not only neuroscience — for investigating consciousness. In particular, they argue that any theory of consciousness cannot avoid philosophical enquiry and thus only can choose between good or bad philosophy. Also, the topics of self-consciousness and selfhood are highlighted as problems of consciousness sui...
Cannabis and classic psychedelics are controlled substances with emerging evidence of efficacy in the treatment of a variety of psychiatric illnesses. Cannabis has largely not been regarded as having psychedelic effects in contemporary literature, despite many examples of historical use along with classic psychedelics to attain altered states of consciousness. Research into the “psychedelic”...
Ayahuasca is a brew with psychoactive properties that has been used as an entheogen for centuries, with more recent studies suggesting it is a promising treatment for some clinical disorders. Although there is an emerging scientific literature on its effects, to the best of our knowledge no study has explored the self-reported experiences of first-time ayahuasca users with quantitative textual...
Background. The problem of artificial consciousness is relevant in connection with intensive development of artificial intelligence technologies and the complication of technological environment of the mankind, including artificial agents and decision-making systems. It is widely covered in the interdisciplinary discourse of natural sciences, humanities and engineering. Yet, the unresolved...
Medical cannabis (MC) is increasingly used for chronic pain, but it is unclear how it aids in pain management. Previous literature suggests that MC could holistically alter the pain experience instead of only targeting pain intensity. However, this hypothesis has not been previously systematically tested. A retrospective internet survey was used in a sample of Finnish chronic pain patients (40...
Dreaming is a complex phenomenon that occurs during sleep, involving various conscious dream experiences. Lucid dreams (LDs) involve heightened awareness within the dream environment, while out-of-body experiences (OBEs) involve the sensation of being outside one's physical body. OBEs occur during sleep paralysis (SP), where voluntary movements are inhibited during sleep/wake transitions while...
Abstract There has been increasing scientific and clinical interest in studying psychedelic and meditation-based interventions in recent years, both in the context of improving mental health and as tools for understanding the mind. Several authors suggest neurophysiological and phenomenological parallels and overlaps between psychedelic and meditative states and suggest synergistic effects of...
In this article, an attempt is made to free mindfulness from its modern psychologically utilitarian interpretation and display its ontological-existential essence. To do that, the essay offers the existential roots of human suffering and the ontological meaning of attachment that is found at the basis of suffering. Heidegger’s philosophy is used to show that due to our anxious rejection of the...
Identifying the neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs) is key to support the different scientific theories of consciousness. NCCs can be defined to reflect either the brain signatures underlying specific conscious content or those supporting different states of consciousness, two aspects traditionally studied separately. In this paper, we introduce a framework to characterize NCCs according...
Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Transcendent Beliefs Scale (TBS). We defined transcendent experiences as an experience of unity with others and the whole of existence, which is associated with behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and transcendental factors. Our aim was to develop a very brief instrument that accurately reflected the phenomenology of...