Rational Mysticism

The author of The End of Science chronicles the most advanced research into such experiences as prayer, fasting, and trances in this “great read” ( The Washington Post ). How do trances, visions, prayer, satori, and other mystical experiences “work”? What induces and defines them? Is there a scientific explanation for religious mysteries and transcendent meditation? John Horgan investigates a wide range of fields—chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, theology, and more—to narrow the