Material Information |
| Title: |
The Enigma of Pure Conciousness Incorporating the Neurophysiology of Mysticism |
| Physical Description: |
Book |
| Language: |
English |
| Creator: |
Rosenberg, Joshua D. |
| Publisher: |
New College of Florida |
| Place of Publication: |
Sarasota, Fla. |
| Creation Date: |
2008 |
| Publication Date: |
2008 |
Subjects |
| Subjects / Keywords: |
Mysticism
Consciousness
Mystical Experience |
| Genre: |
bibliography ( marcgt )
theses ( marcgt )
government publication (state, provincial, terriorial, dependent) ( marcgt )
born-digital ( sobekcm )
Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Notes |
| Abstract: |
The religious and philosophical literature on mysticism is rife with speculations about the phenomenology of mystical experience, but it does not address these issues vis-�-vis neurophysiology. Scholarship on comparative mysticism has centered on unsophisticated notions of the mind, which limits the discussion in favor of a priori assumptions rather than critical assessment of what is empirically known about the brain. Couching the argument in more scientific and contemporary terminology, I attempt to bring clarity to a debate that ended thanks to the ascendancy of constructivist epistemologies and agendas of religious pluralism. Experiments conducted on mystics and meditators suggest that the structure of the brain does not preclude there being a particular type of mystical experience, the Pure Consciousness Event (PCE), that can be accessible to anyone who instantiates certain neurophysiological processes. The PCE is not mediated by biographical and contextual schemas but by noncognitive properties of consciousness that all humans share; as such, one�s cognitive religious beliefs neither inform nor interfere with the phenomenon as it occurs. I defend a soft version of decontextualism, which claims that while there is no essence of all mystical experience, the PCE is not flavored by the conceptual systems of particular religions and is therefore available to mystics of any tradition. |
| Statement of Responsibility: |
by Joshua D. Rosenberg |
| Thesis: |
Thesis (B.A.) -- New College of Florida, 2008 |
| Electronic Access: |
RESTRICTED TO NCF STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY, AND ON-CAMPUS USE |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Source of Description: |
This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. |
| Local: |
Faculty Sponsor: Langston, Douglas |
Record Information |
| Source Institution: |
New College of Florida |
| Holding Location: |
New College of Florida |
| Rights Management: |
Applicable rights reserved. |
| Classification: |
local - S.T. 2008 R8 |
| System ID: |
NCFE004009:00001 |
|
Material Information |
| Title: |
The Enigma of Pure Conciousness Incorporating the Neurophysiology of Mysticism |
| Physical Description: |
Book |
| Language: |
English |
| Creator: |
Rosenberg, Joshua D. |
| Publisher: |
New College of Florida |
| Place of Publication: |
Sarasota, Fla. |
| Creation Date: |
2008 |
| Publication Date: |
2008 |
Subjects |
| Subjects / Keywords: |
Mysticism
Consciousness
Mystical Experience |
| Genre: |
bibliography ( marcgt )
theses ( marcgt )
government publication (state, provincial, terriorial, dependent) ( marcgt )
born-digital ( sobekcm )
Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Notes |
| Abstract: |
The religious and philosophical literature on mysticism is rife with speculations about the phenomenology of mystical experience, but it does not address these issues vis-�-vis neurophysiology. Scholarship on comparative mysticism has centered on unsophisticated notions of the mind, which limits the discussion in favor of a priori assumptions rather than critical assessment of what is empirically known about the brain. Couching the argument in more scientific and contemporary terminology, I attempt to bring clarity to a debate that ended thanks to the ascendancy of constructivist epistemologies and agendas of religious pluralism. Experiments conducted on mystics and meditators suggest that the structure of the brain does not preclude there being a particular type of mystical experience, the Pure Consciousness Event (PCE), that can be accessible to anyone who instantiates certain neurophysiological processes. The PCE is not mediated by biographical and contextual schemas but by noncognitive properties of consciousness that all humans share; as such, one�s cognitive religious beliefs neither inform nor interfere with the phenomenon as it occurs. I defend a soft version of decontextualism, which claims that while there is no essence of all mystical experience, the PCE is not flavored by the conceptual systems of particular religions and is therefore available to mystics of any tradition. |
| Statement of Responsibility: |
by Joshua D. Rosenberg |
| Thesis: |
Thesis (B.A.) -- New College of Florida, 2008 |
| Electronic Access: |
RESTRICTED TO NCF STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY, AND ON-CAMPUS USE |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Source of Description: |
This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. |
| Local: |
Faculty Sponsor: Langston, Douglas |
Record Information |
| Source Institution: |
New College of Florida |
| Holding Location: |
New College of Florida |
| Rights Management: |
Applicable rights reserved. |
| Classification: |
local - S.T. 2008 R8 |
| System ID: |
NCFE004009:00001 |
|