Consilience in Developing a Multidisciplinary Framework of Spirituality: Scientific Commentary on Chatlos
Zygon December 3, 2025 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.16995/zygon.19023 via DOAJ
Summary
Calvin Chatlos proposes a new way to think about spiritual experiences, grounding them in self-worth to connect science, philosophy, and theology. This approach raises questions about the self's role in spirituality and faces validity challenges. To resolve these, the author argues that epistemological issues about knowledge must first be addressed, enabling an interdisciplinary study of spirituality and the soul. Cross-cultural validity requires grounding such concepts in neurophenomenology, neurognostic perspectives, and neurological processes that align with naturalist views on religion's foundations.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Conceptualizing spiritual experiences in terms of self-worth offers a novel interdisciplinary framework but requires addressing epistemological issues and grounding in neurophenomenology for cross-cultural validity. |
Abstract
Calvin Chatlos provides a novel consideration of spiritual experiences and attempts to find ontological grounds to span these concerns within science, philosophy, and theology. Conceptualization of spiritual experiences in terms of self-worth presents interesting avenues for future considerations of the role of self in explaining spirituality but also faces several validity challenges. Resolving ontological issues requires first addressing epistemological issues regarding the nature of knowledge, which permits an interdisciplinary investigation of spirituality and the soul. The cross-cultural validity of such constructs requires their basis in neurophenomenology, neurognostic perspectives, and neurological processes that engage naturalist perspectives on the foundations of religion.