Abstract

Exceptional, or anomalous, experiences (AE), including mystical, so‐called out‐of‐body and near‐death experiences, have intrigued humanity throughout history. In William James's program for a science of psychology at the end of the 19th century, all experiences, whether usual or exceptional were within its remit, yet the scientific consideration of AE has been mostly dormant until recently. This chapter provides an overview of the field, starting with a definition of AE, descriptions of various types, a brief history of their study, and a list of why they are essential to a complete psychology of human experience. Other sections cover the (incidental) relation of AE to psychopathology, the proposal of an underlying personality trait, related neuroscientific studies, and the potential beneficial effects of AE. In the final section, I argue that rather than just being oddities or malfunctions, AE are essential to a comprehensive account of consciousness and may, more arguably, provide alternative epistemological pathways to that of the ordinary state of consciousness.