A philosophical inquiry to include trance in epistemology.
Journal of psychoactive drugs January 1, 1989 H Wautischer 3 citations
Voluntary trance or meditation can extend perception beyond ordinary spatial and temporal boundaries. The validity and reliability of such experiences for science are no different from those of ordinary perception. Early Greek philosophy's shift from myth to logos neglected subtle qualities of reason once seen as gateways to divine revelation. Scientific methodologies cannot account for such revelation, and no scientific criteria exist to utilize these phenomena. Shamanic experiences are intersubjectively accessible and could support rational theories with appropriate methodologies, but science currently treats them as merely psychological and thus valueless for empirical research. The article examines reevaluating "rational" and "consciousness" to expand scientific methodologies to include volitionally altered perceptions.