Mystical & Altered States of Consciousness
The Entropic Brain Hypothesis
A neuroscience framework proposing that the quality and richness of a conscious state tracks the entropy, or disorder, of brain activity — with ordinary adult waking consciousness a relatively low-entropy, tightly regulated state, and psychedelic and other altered states a shift toward a less constrained, higher-entropy “primary” state, correlating with reduced activity in the brain’s default mode network and the subjective experience often described as “ego dissolution.”
Proponents
Robin Carhart-Harris
Evidence For
Neuroimaging studies have repeatedly found that psychedelic states correlate with measurably increased entropy — a more varied, less predictable repertoire of brain connectivity patterns — alongside decreased default mode network activity, matching the theory's core prediction.
Evidence Against
Critics argue the theory's account of why a "suboptimal," less-regulated brain state would nonetheless be experienced as richer or more meaningful remains underspecified, and some researchers dispute whether entropy is really the right measure of what distinguishes these states of consciousness at all.
Real Sources
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