William James on the Features of Mystical Experiences

Dr. David Peña-Guzmán, Philosophy professor and co-host of the Overthink podcast, discusses psychologist and philosopher William James and his account of mystical experience from his book The Varieties of Religious Experience. In the fourth video in our new series of video lectures on mind, consciousness, and self, David outlines the four features of mystical experience that James describes and discusses how James' account is relevant to contemporary work in philosophy of mind, particularly for research on psychedelics and altered states of consciousness.

Graphics and editing by Aaron Morgan

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[Entheos]

Thank you so much for your clear and concise summary of William James his ideas on Mysticism. What a cool way to think about these experiences that we have.

[cultureandtheory]

"Thank you, Dr. Peña-Guzmán, for this engaging discussion on William James' account of mystical experience. Your insights into the relevance of James' work for contemporary philosophy of mind, especially in relation to psychedelics and altered states of consciousness, are truly thought-provoking. Looking forward to exploring more of your lectures on mind, consciousness, and self."

[anthonycastro]

I'm interested in the latest resurgence in the use of psychedelics in treating depression. It's interesting to note that the induced psychosis by the psychedelics restore people from depression. It brings up two things, what is depression really? And what is psychosis/ hallucinations? William James seems to answer the latter question quite nicely and that these experiences are in fact religious in that they restore a sense of meaning, and I argue because of this depression is a disease of meaning, not of chemical imbalances as that interpretation of depression is starting to be proven false. There is then space for old thinkers like James and Jung to assert their claims as still relevant in this modern age as the religious experience is the center of life and transformation we desperately need.

[cultureandtheory]

"As Bergson observes, the mystic infuses the world with a breath of fresh air, shattering routine perceptions of reality and opening the door to new hypotheses about the nature of existence."

[PebloNemo]

Speaking of Whitehead, the state of creative flow also shares quite a few of those characteristics. The end result may is something that you can describe and share, but the process itself is a very different experience

[doylesaylor]

The summary of four James categories was very well done. I also think much more could be said in the context of the video. Where do words come from? So why are mystical states inarticulate? Which seems eminently open to explore.

[robertalenrichter]

I find it interesting that we are seeing a resurgence in research and philosophical discourse on the nature of consciousness, precisely at the moment when we're starting to mechanise intelligence by outsourcing mental tasks to computer simulations of reason. AI undermines authorship, another way of saying "agency", a term that has suddenly become popular. Not only are an increasing number of decisions being taken out of our hands, but even the social function of being identified with our actions is blurring. You don't really know whether Robert has written this text, or to what extent. So, what's left for me as a social agent? This uncertainty throws the question of human consciousness in its defining features into sharp relief. In an increasingly mechanistic culture, we are forced to identify with those aspects of existence which aren't mechanical, obviously a spiritual practice. I make paintings, something very old-fashioned, which can't be simulated. One could give billions of people paints and a canvas, yet never see two paintings alike. There is an intrinsic signature.

[robertalenrichter]

I'm old, and all of my life people have been saying "transcience". But, now there is a trend of putting a Y at the end of such nouns, which seems so superfluous..."competency", "resiliency". I suspect that it reflects a subconscious desire to make these words sound like "agency", a buzzword of recent years. And it drives me nuts :)

[timb]

The ONLY reason 'reportability' is an issue...is because the events are so rare that no common vocabulary has been created to represent and / or communicate them. If multitudes had these experieinces...and each knew that others were having these experiences...then common ground would be clarified...and new words would be created. As it is...if you experience 'X'...not only are there no words to describe it, there is also nobody to discuss it with. Ironically...the vast majority of 'religious' authorities simply don't have a clue about mystical / transendent experiences (for whatever reasons...it's not a criticism...but it is kind of ironic)... and conventional psychology often views the whole thing as pathaological.