Introduction

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ID: 322064
2026
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Abstract
Abstract This chapter sets the stage for this interdisciplinary volume on Psychedelics, Religious, Spiritual, and Mystical experiences. It introduces the interdisciplinary foundations of psychological inquiry by revisiting William James’s argument that psychology must integrate biological science with philosophical and humanistic perspectives to avoid both reductionism and ignorance of scientific methods. It positions psychology as a hub discipline and emphasizes its role in connecting neural mechanisms, embodied experience, and socio-cultural meaning across different levels of explanation. The chapter defines the book’s focus on intense altered states—variously labeled religious, spiritual, mystical, or self-transcendent—and highlights diverse triggers such as psychedelics, meditation, prayer, brain stimulation, and sensory deprivation, which complicate classification and interpretation amid growing scientific and clinical interest. It reviews debates since James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience, contrasting biological reductionism with purely cultural interpretations, and introduces three guiding questions on common core theories, psychedelics’ relevance, and the relationship between experience and belief. These questions are addressed by all authors in this volume from their own disciplinary perspective.
Reference Key
openalex_W7170081990 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors David B. Yaden, Michiel van Elk
Journal Oxford University Press eBooks
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192844064.013.38
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192844064.013.38
Keywords Keywords not found

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