In Chapter 2 of Beyond Physicalism, I suggest that mystical experience, if a source of genuine metaphysical insight, can shed light on a variety of extraordinary phenomena, including psi and near-death experience, as well as the mystery that is ordinary consciousness. It is striking that mystics are often left with the conviction that they came into contact with deeper realities during their ex...

By comparing chemistry to art, chemists have recently made claims to the aesthetic value, even beauty, of some of their products. This paper takes these claims seriously and turns them into a systematic investigation of the aesthetics of chemical products. I distinguish three types of chemical products – materials, molecules, and molecular models – and use a wide variety of aesthetic theories s...

This chapter begins with a brief review of descriptions and definitions of mystical-type experiences and the historical connection between classic hallucinogens and mystical experiences. The chapter then explores the empirical literature on experiences with classic hallucinogens in which claims about mystical or religious experiences have been made. A psychometrically validated questionnaire is...

This paper critically examines whether, and how, mystical insights can be conveyed in language. First, the problem of mystical ineffability is briefly presented: how, if at all, is it possible to express the supposedly transrational and transconceptual (non-dualistic) mystical experience in rational and conceptual (dualistic) linguistic terms? Second, drawing on the Wittgensteinian distinction ...

This work presents the two surviving letters preserved from extensive correspondence of V.E. Sesemann, a professor philosophy at Vilnius University time (1961), and B.D. Dandaron, Buddhist teacher who was researcher Buryat Integrated Research Institute that time. The discuss authors’ current creative plans, as well everyday life resettling after release prison in 1956. In his letter, Dandaron d...

This paper attempts to define the discipline of Computational Aesthetics in the context of computer science, partly reflecting the contributions and comprehensive discussions of the first EG Workshop on Computational Aesthetics in Graphics, Visualization and Imaging. It points out the current problem of "aesthetic pollution" as a side effect of computer aided design and gives motivation to impr...

Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend... 'But', He said, 'you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live'. Ex. 33:11 & 20 Religious apologetics is perennially attracted to the idea that religious beliefs are arrived at in ways that are fundamentally on all fours with the procedures by means of which more mundane beliefs are generated and jus...

Binary oppositions are among the essential concepts and components of structuralism and linguistic and semiotic theories that are rooted in human ancient beliefs. One of the fundamental functions of the human mind is the creation of binary oppositions, which are seen in art and literature. The study of binary oppositions in literary works leads to a better understanding of them. This article is...