The anthropology of mind: exploring unusual sensations and spiritual experiences across cultures
Tanya Luhrmann
Interviewed by Martin Fortier keywords
absorption, anthropology of mind, cognitive penetrability, religious experience, sense of reality doi: 10.34700/7ppf-h459 Abstract
In this interview, Tanya Luhrmann discusses her position within the field of anthropology as well as her methodological commitments. She also addresses her view about the mechanisms governing the shift from experiential unreality (imagination-like mental representations) to experiential reality (perception-like mental representations) as well as the role of personal proclivity (in particular the trait of absorption) within religious practice and experience. Finally, the interview tackles the question of cognitive penetrability: can folk models of the mind influence what kinds of mental events are likely to take place, how they unfold, and how they are subjectively perceived? |