Altered States of Consciousness (original) (raw)
内容简介 · · · · · ·
During extraordinary moments of consciousness―shock, meditative states and sudden mystical revelations, out-of-body experiences, or drug intoxication―our senses of time and self are altered; we may even feel time and self dissolving. These experiences have long been ignored by mainstream science, or considered crazy fantasies. Recent research, however, has located the neural un...
During extraordinary moments of consciousness―shock, meditative states and sudden mystical revelations, out-of-body experiences, or drug intoxication―our senses of time and self are altered; we may even feel time and self dissolving. These experiences have long been ignored by mainstream science, or considered crazy fantasies. Recent research, however, has located the neural underpinnings of these altered states of mind. In this book, neuropsychologist Marc Wittmann shows how experiences that disturb or widen our everyday understanding of the self can help solve the mystery of consciousness.
Wittmann explains that the relationship between consciousness of time and consciousness of self is close; in extreme circumstances, the experiences of space and self intensify and weaken together. He considers the emergence of the self in waking life and dreams; how our sense of time is distorted by extreme situations ranging from terror to mystical enlightenment; the experience of the moment; and the loss of time and self in such disorders as depression, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. Dostoyevsky reported godly bliss during epileptic seizures; neurologists are now investigating the phenomenon of the epileptic aura. Wittmann describes new studies of psychedelics that show how the brain builds consciousness of self and time, and discusses pilot programs that use hallucinogens to treat severe depression, anxiety, and addiction.
If we want to understand our consciousness, our subjectivity, Wittmann argues, we must not be afraid to break new ground. Studying altered states of consciousness leads us directly to the heart of the matter: time and self, the foundations of consciousness.
作者简介 · · · · · ·
Marc Wittmann is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health, Freiburg, Germany. He studied Psychology and Philosophy at the Universities of Fribourg, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany (1990-1994). He received his Ph.D. (1997) and his Habilitation (2007) at the Institute of Medical Psychology, University of Munich. From 2000 to 2004 he w...
Marc Wittmann is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health, Freiburg, Germany. He studied Psychology and Philosophy at the Universities of Fribourg, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany (1990-1994). He received his Ph.D. (1997) and his Habilitation (2007) at the Institute of Medical Psychology, University of Munich. From 2000 to 2004 he was head of the Generation Research Program, Bad Tölz, University of Munich. 2004 to 2009 he was Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego.
- 还没人写过短评呢