Front Psychiatry
May 11, 2022
Stephan Schleim
16 citations
The context in which psychedelic drugs are taken—setting, expectations, and cultural framing—shapes their effects, a phenomenon known as context-dependency. Rather than posing a problem for scientific study, this variability offers opportunities for both anthropology and pharmacology to better understand how biology and environment interact. The authors argue that context-dependency is not a flaw but a feature that can be leveraged to design more effective therapeutic interventions and to enrich ethnographic accounts of altered states.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2022
Stephan Schleim
13 citations
The hard problem of consciousness—explaining subjective experience through third-person science—has historical roots in Leibniz, du Bois-Reymond, and Wundt's concerns about introspection. Recent research on long-term meditators, who can sustain stable conscious states, offers a promising paradigm for studying consciousness. This perspective article traces the problem historically and examines how neurophenomenology, as advocated by Varela, can guide contemporary meditation research toward addressing the hard problem.
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience
May 15, 2026
Felix Tretter, Henriette Löffler-stastka, Hans Braun et al.
An interdisciplinary group of experts argues that progress in understanding and treating neuro-psychiatric disorders requires an integrative, multi-perspective approach that acknowledges differences between system levels, their complex interactions, and domain-specific languages. They review the past decade and find that many research programs remain reductionist and fail to critically examine neurobiological explanations and interdisciplinary interfaces. They call for establishing an interdisciplinary neurophilosophy that develops a critical philosophical stance within neuroscience, applying complex systems science to integrate knowledge. An ecological perspective is needed, viewing the brain as a regulative organ in a situated organism extended to tools, technologies, and social structures. The debate about free will illustrates that respecting complexity and irreducibility of mental phenomena avoids inappropriate reductionist and deterministic assumptions.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2025
Stephan Schleim
Yoga, as defined by the classical Yoga Sutras (at least 1,600 years old), combines ethical rules, postures, breathing exercises, and meditative techniques. This perspective examines whether Western psychology and science are compatible with yoga psychology. It focuses on epistemology—what sources are accepted for valid knowledge in the yoga system—and ontology in the broader context of Indian philosophy. The discussion highlights assumptions from Indian schools of thought that seem difficult to reconcile with Western science. Reinterpreting classical Indian philosophical terms to achieve compatibility with science would likely undermine the authenticity and inner core of those systems.
Mental Health and Enhancement
January 1, 2023
Stephan Schleim
Three distinct kinds of psychoactive drugs can be distinguished based on their medical use, a category that has shifted over time. Historical examples since the nineteenth century show that colonial authorities were once the largest drug traders and even waged war to keep markets open. Cocaine, opium, and nitrous oxide are examined in detail; the legal regulation of nitrous oxide changed while the book was being written. A framework for instrumental substance use is introduced, distinguishing different reasons people use drugs. Common substances are described with their risks and benefits. Important values that can guide moral decisions about drug use are presented.