History on Art’s Side: Social Dynamics in Artistic Efflorescences by Vytautas M. Kavolis (review)

Books 247 Parker puts forward the hypothesis that paranormal phenomena may be associated with altered states of consciousness or at least with the transition between states of consciousness. The bulk of the book deals with the different states of consciousness encountered, and, in particular, the difficulties of deciding if a person is indeed hypnotized are well presented. Work on mediumistic trances, dream states, out-of-body experiences and lucid dreams, and any relation they bear to ESP is summarized, but not only the basic data are presented. Many anecdotal reports are included to make the reading much lighter than would otherwise be the case in a work so influenced by Jungian and Freudian theory. The similarities of all these altered states of consciousness to disease processes is allotted a special chapter. I disagree with Parker that ‘Shamanism is an example of a state which Western psychiatrists would regard as psychotic’ (p. 118). An important difference is that the shaman (who is found not only in Siberia) voluntarily enters the spirit world for a purpose and that his journey there is of a short duration, determined by him or her. This is akin to the subject of the next chapter on the use of psychodelicdrugs to expand awareness of the microcosmos and the macrocosmos. The spontaneous reports by artists of their improved creativeoutput followingthe use of LSD have not been confirmed under controlled conditions, though it seemsthat in a helpful setting a ‘genuine’mystical experience will result. If the setting is supportive and religious, then a religious type of experience is likely to result, giving sensations of unity with the universe and a perception of ultimate reality similar to that described by Lawrence Le Shan in The Medium, the Mystic and the Physicist [reviewed in Leonardo 9, 154 (1976)l. Though it seems there is little evidence that ESP is facilitated by the use of psychedelics, parallels are drawn between the deepest levels of psychedelic experiences and the second Bardo level at which Buddhists expect paranormal abilities to become apparent. Traditional Eastern systems such as Zen, Yoga, Sufism and Tantra are compared with the recently developed biofeedback techniques for inducing that hypometabolic state known as meditation. This state varies in its observable effects, but all varieties have been shown to be associated with psi phenomena. Meditation is one way to obtain a mystic experience, and such experiences have dimensions of reality, unusual intensity of perception and unity with the universe. It is these that aid the appearance of paranormal phenomena. The final chapter is entitled Is There a Post-Mortem Altered State ofConsciousness?The conclusion is that if anything of the psychesurvivesdeath it isa poor sort of survivaland does not last long-perhaps sevenyears, but more usually only a few months. This is a thoughtful survey of a complex field. It is lucidly written and well presented on the whole, though it is a pity so many misprints occur in chapters 4 and 5, where the author’s special knowledge is otherwise well aired. It is to be hoped that the cross-cultural research on dying hallucinations suggested on page 112will be reported soon.Do dying Moslems see Minhir and Nekir? A Discourse on Novelty aod Creation. Carl R. Hausman. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1975. 159 pp. Paper, Gld.45.00. Coasciousnessand Creativity: Transcending Science,Humanities aod the Arts. Bill Romey. Ash Lad Press, Canton, N.Y., 1975. 278 pp., illus. Paper, $5.00. Reviewed by James W.Davis* The first book is an attempt to reconcile traditional conflicts between rational and nonrational views of the creative process. Hausman points out that both views concede that ‘newness’ exists in art and the world-at-large, yet neither adequately adheres to the ‘phenomenon with which they start, that is, the appearance of novelty’ (‘newness of kind’). For the die-hard rationalist, the issue emerges amidst a multitude of unverifiable assumptions where the mysteries of creativity areclaimed to be events ‘in acontinuum of regularities or lawful processes’. To consider creative acts as contiguous regularities is to deny their essential character: ‘Occurrences of unfamiliar identitiesthat are intelligibleeventhough they arenot continuous with their antecedents.’ *216 N. Normal, Macomb, IL 61455, U.S.A. The opposing...