This authoritative, multidisciplinary overview of altered states of consciousness (ASC) shows how their study is necessary to gain a fundamental understanding of human culture, history, and biology.
Altered consciousness is one of humanity's most mystical and life-altering aspects. These remarkable changes in mental state have understandably been a topic of general interest and scientific inquiry across time. Beyond simply satisfying our curiosity, however, studies focused upon altered consciousness can also bring valuable insights into our experience, biology, and culture.
This unprecedented two-volume set will intrigue anyone interested in psychology, biology and neurology, science, history, arts and the humanities, and literature on consciousness, from general readers to scholars and researchers. An impressive collection of international contributors address altered states of consciousness from the perspectives of history, evolution, psychology, culture, literature, human biology, contemporary science, and society, seeking to illuminate the causes, effects, and meanings of altered consciousness. The first volume provides an introduction and centers on the importance of altered states in history, culture, and the humanities, while the second volume presents biological and psychological perspectives on altered consciousness and examines their potential for healing and pathology.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Preface
Kenneth S. Pope
Introduction
Etzel Cardeña
Part I: Biological Perspectives
Chapter 1 Sleep, Dreams, and Other Biological Cycles as Altered States of Consciousness
Andrzej Kokoszka and Benjamin Wallace
Chapter 2 Neurochemistry and Altered Consciousness
David E. Presti
Chapter 3 Dopamine, Altered Consciousness, and Distant Space with Special Reference to Shamanic Ecstasy
Fred Previc
Chapter 4 Transcendent Experiences and Brain Mechanisms
Mario Beauregard
Chapter 5 DMT and Human Consciousness
Zevic Mishor, Dennis J. McKenna, and J.?C. Callaway
Chapter 6 LSD and the Serotonin System's Effects on Human Consciousness
David E. Nichols and Benjamin R. Chemel
Chapter 7 Peyote and Meaning
Stacy B. Schaefer
Chapter 8 Addiction and the Dynamics of Altered States of Consciousness
Andrea E. Blätter, Jörg C. Fachner, and Michael Winkelman
Chapter 9 Altering Consciousness Through Sexual Activity
Michael Maliszewski, Barbara Vaughan, Stanley Krippner, Gregory Holler, and Cheryl Fracasso
Chapter 10 Altered Consciousness and Human Development
Pehr Granqvist, Sophie Reijman, and Etzel Cardeña
Part II: Psychological Perspectives
Chapter 11 Altered States of Bodily Consciousness
Sebastian Dieguez and Olaf Blanke
Chapter 12 Altering Consciousness and Neuropathology
Quentin Noirhomme and Steven Laureys
Chapter 13 Altered Consciousness in Emotion and Psychopathology
Etzel Cardeña
Chapter 14 Visionary Spirituality and Mental Disorders
David Lukoff
Chapter 15 Altered States of Consciousness as Paradoxically Healing: An Embodied Social Neuroscience Perspective
Aaron L. Mishara and Michael A. Schwartz
Chapter 16 Anomalous Phenomena, Psi, and Altered Consciousness
David Luke
About the Editors
Advisory Board
About the Contributors
Index
About the Author :
Etzel Cardeña, PhD, holds the endowed Thorsen Chair of Psychology at Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Michael Winkelman, MPH, PhD, retired from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, in 2009 and currently lives in the central highlands of Brazil where he is developing permaculture-based intentional communities.
Review :
Cardeña and Winkelman have produced two valuable collections on non-ordinary states of consciousness . . . There is much to learn here: no serious scholar of consciousness should be without these volumes on their shelf.
In summary, Altering Consciousness: Multidisciplinary Perspectives edited by Cardeña and Winkelman provides an invaluable resource for the professional engaged in research, teaching, or clinical work on consciousness, altered states, hypnosis, dreams, shamanic healing, and a variety of other areas. The work is definitive, setting a new standard for research by clarifying concepts and paradigms; comprehensive, touching on research across the broad spectrum of the humanities, the arts, and the sciences; and relevant, guiding the reader to the scientific and existential importance of current research on consciousness. I recommend this book as a must read for the professional, a must buy for the library, and a must read for the graduate student. My compliments to Cardeña and Winkelman for assembling this vast crew and bringing the book to press.
Each essay includes excellent references; the set as a whole has an outstanding bibliography that covers the vast array of topics related to ASC. Skeptics are likely to be dismissive of this endeavor, but ASC research remains important, and a scholarly treatment is welcome. Summing up: Recommended.
These two very rich volumes are now necessary for anyone conducting research on the history of consciousness and its alterations. It remains a difficult topic, but these volumes will prove to be of great value for decades to come.
