A neuroepistemology of mystical experience
Transpersonal psychology review January 1, 2020 C. Laughlin, A. Rock
This essay offers an anthropological perspective on a neuroepistemological account of mystical experience. It first describes features of mystical experience, such as distortions in time- and space-consciousness. It then examines the epistemology of mystical experience, focusing on the debate between constructivists and decontextualists. The authors develop a neuroepistemological framework and show how it might inform that debate. Finally, they discuss methodological challenges—like phenomenological naiveté—that can impede such an account, and outline the attributes needed in researchers to address these challenges.