Rational mysticism : dispatches from the border between science and spirituality / John Horgan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Horgan, John, 1953-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mysticism.

Religion and science.

Physical Description:

292 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2003.

Summary:

How do trances, visions, prayer, satori, and other mystical experiences "work"? What induces and defines them? Is there a scientific explanation for religious mysteries and transcendent meditation? John Horgan investigates a wide range of fields -- chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, theology, and more -- to narrow the gap between reason and mystical phenomena. As both a seeker and an award-winning journalist, Horgan consulted a wide range of experts, including theologian Huston Smith, spiritual heir to Joseph Campbell; Andrew Newberg, the scientist whose quest for the "God machine" was the focus of a Newsweek cover story; Ken Wilber, prominent transpersonal psychologist; Alexander Shulgin, legendary psychedelic drug chemist; and Susan Blackmore, Oxford-educated psychologist, parapsychology debunker, and Buddhist. Horgan explores the striking similarities between "mystical technologies" like sensory deprivation, prayer, fasting, trance, dancing, meditation, and drug trips. He participates in experiments that seek the neurological underpinnings of mystical experiences. And, finally, he recounts his own search for enlightenment -- adventurous, poignant, and sometimes surprisingly comic. Horgan's conclusions resonate with the controversial climax of The End of Science, because, as he argues, the most enlightened mystics and the most enlightened scientists end up in the same place -- confronting the imponderable depth of the universe.

Contents:

Introduction: Lena's Feather 1

1 Huston Smith's Perennial Philosophy 15

2 Attack of the Postmodernists 36

3 The Weightlifting Bodhisattva 55

4 Can Neurotheology Save Us? 73

5 The God Machine 91

6 The Sheep Who Became a Goat 106

7 Zen and James Austin's Brain 124

8 In the Birthplace of Lsd 141

9 God's Psychoanalyst 160

10 The Man in the Purple Sparkly Suit 177

11 Ayahuasca 195

12 The Awe-Ful Truth 214

Epilogue: Winter Solstice 234.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-272) and index.

ISBN:

0618060278

OCLC:

50516485