Altered States of Consciousness · Experiences Out of Time and Self (The MIT Press)

What altered states of

consciousness―the dissolution of feelings of time and self―can tell us

about the mystery of consciousness.

During extraordinary

moments of consciousness―shock, meditative states and sudden mystical

revelations, out-of-body experiences, or drug intoxication―our senses of

time and self are altered; we may even feel time and self dissolving.

These experiences have long been ignored by mainstream science, or

considered crazy fantasies. Recent research, however, has located the

neural underpinnings of these altered states of mind. In this book,

neuropsychologist Marc Wittmann shows how experiences that disturb or

widen our everyday understanding of the self can help solve the mystery

of consciousness.

Wittmann explains that the relationship between

consciousness of time and consciousness of self is close; in extreme

circumstances, the experiences of space and self intensify and weaken

together. He considers the emergence of the self in waking life and

dreams; how our sense of time is distorted by extreme situations ranging

from terror to mystical enlightenment; the experience of the moment;

and the loss of time and self in such disorders as depression,

schizophrenia, and epilepsy. Dostoyevsky reported godly bliss during

epileptic seizures; neurologists are now investigating the phenomenon of

the epileptic aura. Wittmann describes new studies of psychedelics that

show how the brain builds consciousness of self and time, and discusses

pilot programs that use hallucinogens to treat severe depression,

anxiety, and addiction.

If we want to understand our

consciousness, our subjectivity, Wittmann argues, we must not be afraid

to break new ground. Studying altered states of consciousness leads us

directly to the heart of the matter: time and self, the foundations of

consciousness.

"In this, another brief history of time, but now on its perception, as

opposed to physics, Wittmann takes us through the brain science of time

perception with clarity and insight. He covers new approaches to the

issue from psychological, neuroscience, and clinical studies with a good

emphasis on newer imaging studies that implicate brain regions,

particularly the insula in the time perception process. Altogether a

significant achievement in what is a scientifically a much understudied

aspect of human cognition." ―David Nutt, FMedSci and Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology, Imperial College London

"To

fully explore the deepest roots of time and the self (along with its

brain) you could ingest some ayahuasca, undergo a near-death experience,

study meditation for a decade―or read this book, Marc Wittmann's lively

tour of clinical and brain research into the temporality that is us." ―Dan Lloyd, Trinity College, coeditor of Subjective Time: The Philosophy, Psychology, and Neuroscience of Temporality and author of Radiant Cool: A Novel Theory of Consciousness

Marc Wittmann is Research Fellow at the Institute for Frontier Areas of

Psychology and Mental Health in Freiburg, Germany, and the author of Felt Time: The Psychology of How We Perceive Time (MIT Press).