Meditating Hallucinating

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

In this course, we will examine various ways of thinking about a wide range of atypical conscious states. Some of these states emerge in the context of mental illnesses; others are cultivated using meditative or contemplative practices: and still others are induced using drugs or sacred medicines. Readings will be drawn mainly from philosophy and the cognitive sciences. And potential topics include hallucinations, delusions, depersonalization, derealization, and encounters with hungry ghosts, djinn, or ancestral spirits.