Table Of ContentA Scientific Assessment of the
Validity of Mystical Experiences
In this book, the approach of the natural sciences is adopted to confront
the ontological question of how far mystical experiences can be considered
as reports of an objective reality rather than reports of subjective delusions.
Moving beyond traditional philosophical or cultural and theological
interpretations of mystical phenomena, the author uses inductive inference
to analyze claims made by secular and religious mystics, highlight links
between altered states of consciousness and neurochemistry, and counters
reductionist claims that mystical states are exclusively products of neuro-
chemical, neurophysiological, or psychopathological factors. The text also
considers the positive long-term effects of proper use of psychedelics and
meditation.
This fresh approach to mystical experiences will be of interest to schol-
ars, researchers, and postgraduate students working in the areas of psy-
chology and neuroscience, and with an interest in mysticism in religious
studies and philosophy.
Andrew C. Papanicolaou is Professor Emeritus of Clinical Neuro-
sciences of the University of Tennessee, College of Medicine, USA, where
he served as Chief of the Division of Clinical Neuroscience.
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Theoretical, Linguistic, and Applied Usages
Paul M. W. Hackett
Post-Capitalist Subjectivity in Literature and Anti-Psychiatry
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Hans Skott-Myhre
A Scientific Assessment of the Validity of Mystical Experiences
Understanding Altered Psychological and Neurophysiological States
Andrew C. Papanicolaou
The Relevance of Alan Watts in Contemporary Culture
Understanding Contributions and Controversies
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A Scientific Assessment
of the Validity of Mystical
Experiences
Understanding Altered Psychological and
Neurophysiological States
Andrew C. Papanicolaou
First published 2021
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Andrew C. Papanicolaou
The right of Andrew C. Papanicolaou to be identified as author of
this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77
and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
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or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 9780367686642 (hbk)
ISBN: 9780367686659 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003138488 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
To the memory of my brother
ἐν τῷ ὅλῳ δέ τινες αὐτὴν (τὴν ψυχὴν) μεμῖχθαί φασιν
Some say that it (the soul) pervades the universe
Aristotle
We lie in the lap of immense intelligence which makes us receivers of
its truth and organs of its activity
Emerson
ἀρχὰς εἶναι τῶν ὅλων ἀτόμους καὶ κενόν, τὰ δ’ ἄλλα πάντα νενομίσθαι
The principles of everything are atoms and space; all else is opinion
Democritus
Contents
About the Author ix
Acknowledgements xi
Preface xii
1 Defining Mystical States and Experiences 1
What Is the Mystical State and What Is Not 1
Comprehending the Ineffable 7
The Two World Legends 11
2 Unintentional and Deliberate Methods of
Attaining Mystical States: Religious,
Cultural, and Philosophical Perspective s 15
Aspects of the Mystical State 15
Unintended or “Spontaneous ” Mystical States 18
The Way of the Philosophers 25
The Way of the East 31
Dionysius the Areopagite and the Athonites 38
The Mystics of Western Christianity 46
The Curious Efficacy of Mortification 52
Are “Near Death Experiences” Mystical? 55
The Mystical Tradition in Judaism and Islam 62
3 Mystical States achieved through Psychedelics:
The Origins, Classical, and Contemporary
Use of Psychedelics 65
On the Origin of the Belief in a Hidden World 65
The Classical Psychedelics 68
Ritualistic use of Psychedelics: Three Examples 72
viii Contents
The Good Friday Experiment 79
Formal Contemporary Studies with Psychedelics 81
4 Questioning the Reliability of Mystical States:
Identifying Features 87
Identifying the Reliable Features of the Mystical State 87
Classification of the Genuine Features of the Mystical State 92
Could the Reliably Reported Features be Fabrications? 98
The Status of the Culturally Conditioned and the
Genuine Features 99
5 Questioning the Validity of Mystical States:
Opinions and Objections 102
The Range of Opinions on the Validity of the
Mystics’ Claims 102
Is the Validity of the Mystical Knowledge
Indeterminate? 106
The General Objection to the Validity of the
Mystical State 111
Specific Objections to the Validity of the
Mystical State 114
Brain Activity Patterns and Experiences 122
6 The Experiencing Subject and Mystical Object:
Defining the Validity of the Mystical State 127
The Validity of the Genuine Features of the
Mystical State 127
The Independent Existence of the Mystical Object 130
References 134
Index 138
About the Author
Andrew C. Papanicolaou is professor emeritus of Clinical Neurosciences,
University of Tennessee, College of Medicine, where he served as
chief of the Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Greece; president of
the board of the Center of Applied Neuroscience, University of Cyprus
and honorary member of the Hellenic Clinical Neurophysiology and
Neuropsychology Societies. He has served on the board of Regents of
the University of Ioannina, Greece; as director of the Center of Clinical
Neuroscience in the University of Texas—Houston Medical Center and
professor in the departments of neurosurgery, neurology and pediatrics
of the same institution as well as adjunct professor of psychology at
the University of Houston and of linguistics at Rice University.
He founded and directed the Summer Institute of the International
Neuropsychological Society, he founded the International Society for
the Advancement of Clinical Magnetoencephalography and the post-
graduate program in neuropsychology at the University of Athens. His
publications include over 300 technical articles and book chapters in
the areas of cerebral organization of higher functions and pre-surgical
functional brain mapping, and several books ranging from clinical
textbooks to theoretical and philosophical monographs.
Books by the Same Author
Papanicolaou, AC, Roberts, T, and Wheless, J (Eds) Fifty Years of
Magnetoencephalography. Oxford University Press, 2020.
Papanicolaou, AC et al. Functional Βrain Ιmaging in Cognitive Neurosciences (Greek
Edition: 2019). Oxford University Press, 2017.
Papanicolaou, AC et al. Clinical Magnetoencephalography and Magnetic Source
Imaging. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Papanicolaou, AC et al. The Amnesias: A Clinical Textbook of Memory Disorders
(Greek Edition: 2007). Oxford University Press, 2006.
Papanicolaou, AC Plato: Critique of the Relativists. Athens: Exandas, 2002.
Zouridakis, G, and Papanicolaou, AC A Concise Guide to Intraoperative Monitoring,
CRC Press, December 2000.
