What does mediumship tell us about the mind beyond the brain?
International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England) – January 01, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
Intriguing evidence suggests mediums can share accurate information beyond normal senses, challenging our understanding of consciousness. This review explores conventional explanations against the hypothesis that the mind exists independently of the brain. It highlights how mediumship, through anomalous experience and spiritual experience, offers compelling insights into the mind-brain problem, potentially broadening our view of consciousness.
Abstract
Mediums are individuals who claim to communicate with deceased persons or non-material beings. Rigorous studies have reported that mediums can provide accurate anomalous information (i.e. information not obtained through the conventional senses or inferential reasoning). This paper reviews the evidence about these claims and explores the main conventional explanatory hypotheses: fraud, sitter's gullibility and wishful thinking, lucky chance, medium's mental disorder, and involuntary personification of the unconscious mind. Additionally, we examine non-conventional explanations, specifically the hypothesis of the mind beyond the brain, highlighting the types of evidence that mediumship studies provide to support the existence of a mind independent of the physical brain. Through a critical analysis of both conventional and non-conventional explanations, this paper aims to contribute to the understanding of mediumship and its potential implications for our comprehension of consciousness and the mind-brain problem.