Beyond the divine: A historical study of modern atheistic approaches to spirituality

This article explores the intersection of atheism and spirituality, focusing on how thinkers with a naturalistic worldview have engaged with mystical and spiritual experiences. Divided into two parts, the study first examines late 19th and early 20th-century authors who, despite aligning with naturalism and maintaining a skeptical stance toward spiritualism, continued to explore mystical experiences. The second part delves into contemporary authors who not only embrace mystical experiences but also integrate them into scientific inquiry, highlighting the compatibility of such experiences with naturalism. Through the works of philosophers, scientists, and physicians, the article shows that spiritual and mystical experiences can coexist with a strictly naturalistic worldview, enriching our understanding of human consciousness without resorting to supernatural explanations. By revisiting key figures such as Bertrand Russell, Sigmund Freud, André Comte-Sponville, and others, this article contributes to ongoing debates in philosophy and science regarding the phenomenology of spiritual experiences and their epistemic value in understanding consciousness.