Communications in Humanities Research
February 10, 2026
Wenyan Ma
Consciousness in machines may be possible by designing artificial intelligence that mimics the Buddhist Yogācāra concept of Ālayavijñāna, or storehouse consciousness, integrated with holographic information theory. Current deep learning models lack the embodied, recursive, and globally interactive information loops characteristic of conscious systems. A proposed quantum-entangled, sensor-embedded, and self-reflective AI model that replicates the seed-actualization cycle of Ālayavijñāna could achieve a form of machine consciousness, bridging Eastern philosophy with information science.
Communications in Humanities Research
December 31, 2025
Tingting Chen
Mysticism, defined as a tradition of direct, private union with ultimate reality, resurges within modern scientistic culture, especially in art. Historically rooted in medieval Christianity and transformed by Romanticism, it reacts against Enlightenment rationalism and scientism. Scientism, based on empirical methods and exclusion of the supernatural, delegitimizes mystical knowledge but also provokes new mystical quests by generating spiritual emptiness and a crisis of meaning. In art, two forms of mysticism emerge: one treats artworks as vehicles of transcendent knowledge about supernatural realities, directly colliding with scientism's epistemic limits; the other locates mysticism in the creative process and private experience without asserting ontological claims, making it more acceptable to scientism but weakening its claim to genuine transcendence.
Communications in Humanities Research
June 13, 2025
Wei Gan
A video essay uses auto-ethnographic methods within psychedelic aesthetics to explore cultural identity under transnational contexts. The film, Tangling Phantoms (2022), employs cultural symbols such as Beijing opera masks and mahjong tiles as 'semiotic sensations' to express anti-essentialist narratives. As a Chinese student in the UK, the author uses film techniques like superimposition, rapid editing, and over-texturing to create non-linear, fragmented narratives that challenge stereotypical notions of Chineseness. Sensory aesthetics are presented as a tool for sensational cultural memory, suggesting new pathways for experimental filmmaking and cultural studies. The practice highlights how personal experiences can create hybrid, fluid trans-cultural identities and redefine perceptions of cultural identity.
Communications in Humanities Research
September 27, 2024
Yichen Liu
Ketamine, traditionally used as an anesthetic, has recently been found to produce rapid and effective antidepressant effects within a short time after administration, unlike earlier antidepressants such as SSRIs and tricyclics that work by regulating neurotransmitter levels. Multiple studies suggest that Ketamine's therapeutic results may rely on entirely new mechanisms and targets not yet fully understood. This offers a new solution for treatment-resistant depression, providing hope for patients who have not responded to other treatments. This literature review examines Ketamine's therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms across three sections: significant antidepressant effects, underlying principles, and factors relevant to improving Ketamine therapy.