Reconceptualizing the Field of Altered Consciousness: A 50-Year Retrospective

Although consciousness in its various senses has received attention as a construct for more than three millennial, in modern psychology altered states of consciousness (ASC) have often been deemed pathological or anomalous and outside of conventional Western Psychological frameworks. Eastern traditions, however, have developed intricate vocabularies for describing these inner episodes of altered consciousness and spiritual experiences and assign them a deeper grasp on reality. The purpose of this chapter is to survey the preceding 50 years of research on altering consciousness. Using Kuhn's (1962) perspectives of scientific paradigms (the systemic features of scientific fields that guide research and provide models for the solution of research problems), we will highlight how the field has been reconceptualized during this time. Kuhn suggested that science approaches a topic like consciousness from the standpoint of the prevailing paradigm - in this case, materialism - until evidence for alternative interpretations reaches a critical mass and new explanatory models take hold. For example, experiences of ASC viewed as pathological by the existing psychological paradigm of the 1940s and 50s were eventually embraced as normative experiences exemplifying heightened awareness, transpersonal development, and even spiritual transcendence by the turn of the century.