ADA :: sirvimine Autor "Karo, Roland" järgi

Kirje

Eros & Mysticism : Are Mystical States of Consciousness Evolutionary Byproducts of Sexual Response?

(2009-10-02T05:27:14Z) Karo, Roland

The topic of the thesis is a speculative argument developed by Eugene G. d’Aquili, an American psychiatrist, and Andrew B. Newberg, a radiologist, in their pioneering book Why God Won’t Go Away (New York, Ballantine Books, 2002). The kernel of Newberg and d’Aquili’s argument is that when it comes to the human capacity to enter mystical states of consciousness, then (at least on the level of neural functioning) it should be thought of as an evolutionary byproduct, a secondary application of the neural “machinery” that originally evolved in connection with sexual response (in general) and orgasm (in particular). The dissertation is aimed at (a) clarifying – in the light of contemporary neuroscientific and other relevant data – to what extent can the argument in question be taken seriously, (b) developing it into a testable scholarly hypothesis capable of accounting for the more or less obvious links between sexuality and mystical religiosity noted by several thinkers (e.g., Rhawn Joseph), (c) analyzing how one should interpret the implications of the hypothesis from the viewpoint of religion and theology. The analysis is multidisciplinary and belongs to the field of Religion and Science.