Altering the state of the altered state debate: Reply to commentaries

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis,  Jul 2005  by Wickramsekera, Ian II

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Kallio, S. & Revonsuo, A. (2005). Altering the state of the altered state debate: Reply to commentaries. Contemporary Hypnosis, 22(1), 46-55. The main point of the authors' 2003 article was to clarify, explicate and reveal the differences between current theoretical viewpoints in explaining hypnosis.

The authors wanted to present a research program and propose some experiments that when carried out may lend decisive support to either the nonstate or the state view of hypnosis. The commentaries in this same journal issue reveal that the concept of altered state of consciousness still lacks a commonly accepted definition and is in further need of clarification. The controversy between state and nonstate views of hypnosis seems to boil down to the question concerning the explanatory power of the neural level and especially to what the results at this level tell us. In their reply, these authors further clarify the multi-level framework of explanation, the problems associated with the altered state of consciousness concept, and the rationale for their proposal of using virtuosos as a model system in hypnosis research. Address for reprints: Sakari Kallio, University of Skovde, School of Humanities and Informatics, 54128 Skovde, Sweden. E-mail: sakari.kallio@his.se

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