Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:19:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sebastiana maria Silva.pdf: 1536000 bytes, checksum: 2487c2d3e1207d1baf47cde8279add8a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-11 / Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo / The subject celestial journey , well familiar to the old mediterranean world, is based on the belief that the visionary can cross the boundary between humanity and divinity, a constant characteristic in apocalyptic literature. Old Jewish mysticism was seen as an important dimension of this tradition, that is the reason why the mystics used the term apocalypse to describe the revelation of their experiences. Paul s ascension to heaven, recounted in 2 Cor 12,1-10, is the only first hand account and the best evidence of ecstatic practice of celestial journey in first century Judaism. This text, one of great interest in the studies of New Testament, has been examined in thematic forms that extend from the recognition of the apostle as enjoyable to divinity - what granted him such a heroic achievement - to a punishment experience by the guardians of the celestial gates for finding in him no merit to approach the place of the presence of God. For long time, the studies that prevailed in the academy were those of the theological aspects of the passage, such as the spine in the flesh , the apostolic mission , Paul s opponents , among others. The language of the passage reveals important topics that were not considered together for a coherent interpretation of the text. The use of expressions from the Jewish mystical apocalyptic circle like "caught up", "Third Heaven", "hear unutterable words" and "a thorn for the flesh" by the apostle needs to be investigated for the comprehension of what Paul had in mind while using those terms. Another problem is the omission of the experimental approach described in the passage. The apostle reveals that he lived the experience recounted in 2 Cor 12,1-10. While he was telling the unknown status of his body during the rising, he highlights signs of the altered state of consciousness, an aspect that was not considered in the traditional analysis of the text. These problems are analyzed in this thesis take as instruments of the Religion History and the Neurotheology analysis. Models were built trying to demonstrate a correlation between brain activity and mystical experience. In this respect, we have to point out that the emergence of neurotheology, or spiritual neurology brings a progress to the area of religious experience. Some points of difficult interpretation in pauline text have been clarified under this perspective. The proposal of this study was to build a contextual frame to analyse the ecstatic experience of Paul. The study made it possible to infer that the interdisciplinary approach allows a more appropriate scenario to the understanding and interpretation of the text. / O tema viagem celestial , bem familiar ao mundo mediterrâneo antigo fundamenta-se na crença de que o visionário pode cruzar a fronteira entre a humanidade e a divindade, uma característica constante na literatura apocalíptica. O misticismo judaico antigo era visto como uma importante dimensão dessa tradição, razão pela qual os místicos usaram o termo apocalipse para descrever a revelação de suas experiências. A ascensão de Paulo ao céu, recontada em 2 Cor 12,1-10, é o único relato de primeira mão e a melhor evidência para a prática extática de viagem celestial no judaísmo do primeiro século. De grande interesse nos estudos do Novo Testamento o texto tem sido abordado em forma temática que se estende desde o reconhecimento do apóstolo como agradável à divindade o que lhe rendeu tal feito heróico a uma experiência de punição pelos guardiões dos portões celestiais por não ter sido encontrado nele mérito para aproximar-se do lugar da presença de Deus. Por muito tempo os estudos que predominavam na academia eram os de aspectos teológicos da passagem, tais como o espinho na carne , a missão apostólica , os oponentes de Paulo , entre outros. A linguagem da passagem revela pontos importantes não considerados de forma conjunta para uma interpretação coerente do texto. O uso por parte do apóstolo de expressões do círculo místico-apocalíptico judaico, tais como foi arrebatado , Terceiro Céu , ouviu palavras inefáveis e um espinho na carne precisa ser investigado para a compreensão do que Paulo tinha em mente ao utilizar tais terminologias. Outro problema é a omissão do enfoque experimental descrito na passagem. O apóstolo revela que vivenciou tal experiência recontada em 2 Cor 12,1-10. Ao relatar o desconhecimento do status do seu corpo durante a ascensão ele evidencia sinais do estado alterado de consciência, aspecto não considerado nas análises tradicionais do texto. Esses problemas que são abordados nesta tese tomam como instrumentos da análise a História da Religião e o da Neuroteologia. Modelos foram construídos tentando demonstrar uma correlação entre a atividade cerebral e a experiência mística. Há que se destacar, nesse sentido, que o surgimento da neuroteologia ou neurologia espiritual constitui-se em um avanço na área da experiência religiosa. Pontos de difícil interpretação no texto paulino foram elucidados dentro dessa perspectiva. A proposta deste trabalho, portanto, foi construir um quadro contextual em que a experiência extática de Paulo pudesse ser analisada. O estudo possibilitou inferir que a abordagem interdisciplinar permite alcançar um cenário mais apropriado para a compreensão e interpretação do referido texto.

Up to this date there are several scientific disciplines that deal with religion´s underlying mechanisms and certain functions of our consciousness, but there isn´t anyone who takes into account the entire aspect of consciousness. The aim of the present work is to bring the entire aspect of our consciousness into the scientific discussion of religion. To help in doing this, the philosophical concept of qualia is used. First the concept is problematized, then an examination whether the concept has explanatory value in the science of religion and in the understanding of religious experience is done.  The concept of qualia has in this manner been applied to several scientific theories of religion and place-related entity continuity has been used as an example of religious experience. The present work is developed as a literature study and uses literature and theories from de scientific disciplines of philosophy of mind, cognitive neuroscience, neurotheology, cognitive science of religion and psychology of religion. As an underlying method the epistemological theory of holistic coherentism is used because it enables such an interdisciplinary study as this work is.   What this work shows is that qualia have a high explanatory value in the science of religion and in the understanding of religious experience and how we form religious concepts. However, the concept of qualia is problematic and great care must be exercised when inferences are made.