Philosophy and psychedelics: Frameworks for exceptional experience
Journal of Psychedelic Studies – June 19, 2023
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Psychedelics offer profound insights into the nature of reality. A new book explores the critical intersection between philosophy and psychedelics, two disciplines now in dialogue. It examines how these substances challenge our understanding of consciousness and self, delving into foundational epistemology and metaphysics. The work fosters a dialectic across diverse perspectives, exploring the existential meaning derived from exceptional experiences. Charting new philosophical territory, it bridges philosophy with aspects of psychology and sociology, offering a crucial contribution to drug studies.
Abstract
Abstract The intersection between philosophy and psychedelics is explored in the book “Philosophy and Psychedelics: Frameworks for Exceptional Experience”. The authors aim to develop a dialogue between the two disciplines and explore the various frameworks for understanding exceptional experiences that psychedelics have afforded human beings. The book delves into foundational, ontological, and epistemological questions, including the hard problem of consciousness, the metaphysical understanding of the self, and the aesthetic meaning of the sublime in psychedelic experience. The book provides valuable exploration of questions concerning prevailing metaphysical frameworks, epistemic belief structures, and modes of inquiry, and the effort made by the authors to bring into dialogue multiple dialectics and practices, perspectives and methods is commendable.