Anagoge Podcast The Science & Spirituality of Psychedelics with Michiel van Elk
Jan 26, 2026
Michiel van Elk, Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Leiden University and head of the PRISM Lab, studies the neuroscience of religious and psychedelic experiences. He critiques the biomedical hype, questions claims of psychedelics as a brain 'reset', and highlights methodological pitfalls like broken blinding and selection bias. The conversation pushes for sober, rigorous science and explores meaning amplification, ritual, and future research directions.
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Philosophy Clarifies Psychedelic Theory
- Philosophy supplies conceptual clarity and theory that psychology lacks for studying psychedelics and altered states.
- Michiel van Elk argues philosophy helps define what we measure and how to build better, testable theories.
Narrative Theories Hurt Replicability
- Psychology often uses vague 'narrative theories' that lack precision and testability.
- Michiel warns that without specificity about constructs and measures, findings fail to replicate reliably.
From Pentecostal Upbringing To Atheist Scientist
- Michiel van Elk grew up in a Pentecostal church with ecstatic practices and later became atheist at about 21.
- That background shaped his interest in explaining religious and psychedelic experiences scientifically.
