Human Arenas
December 1, 2022
Rosa Traversa
1 citation
Death remains a taboo in contemporary society and psychology, yet debates about consciousness and near-death experiences are emerging across clinical, cultural, and philosophical realms. Quantum physics has shifted the notion of evidence-based science, revealing entanglements between matter and meaning. This theoretical paper questions psychology's empirical split between body and mind and explores thanatological perspectives like Eternalism, aiming to enlarge the concept of mental life to counter neuroscientific reductionism. Arguments are illustrated through a case study of Santa Scorese, a young Catholic woman assassinated in Italy in 1991, whose diary, her killer's letters, and an interview with her sister are analyzed. She is described as passionately in love with God and beauty while repressing her own body.
Human Arenas
May 17, 2026
Hans Contreras-Pulache, Diego Carrera-Hidalgo, Ana Astorga-Cota et al.
Pedro Ortiz Cabanillas's model of nervous system organization integrates emotional, productive, and volitional components across five hierarchical levels—cellular, tissue, neural, paleocortical, and neocortical—spanning biological, psychological, symbolic, and social dimensions. Developed in Peru under challenging conditions, his sociobiological informational theory presents the nervous system as a dynamic, integrative unit where biological and psychosocial processes converge. This framework offers a counterpoint to mainstream neuroscience and enriches epistemological perspectives on human complexity.
Human Arenas
April 25, 2026
Shannon Dames, Grace Scharf, Vivian W.l. Tsang et al.
Ritual functions as a relational organizing container that stabilizes psychedelic therapy by regulating the nervous system, orienting attention, and anchoring meaning through predictable sequencing and symbolic framing. Without clear frameworks, ritual applications risk becoming prescriptive or ethically problematic, especially when borrowing from Indigenous traditions without relational accountability. A principle-informed framework translates these functions into consent-based, culturally humble, and autonomy-protective clinical practice, shifting from prescribed techniques to co-created processes across preparation, dosing, and integration. This approach supports flexible, relational care that honors cultural context, participant agency, and situated meaning-making.