Integrating the ineffable: a social phenomenological analysis of the psychedelic experience
Library, Museums and Press - UDSpace (University of Delaware) February 4, 2025 Logan Neitzke‐spruill 2 citations
People who use psychedelic drugs rely on socially defined frameworks of understanding to make sense of their experiences and integrate them into everyday reality. Drawing on social-phenomenology, cognitive sociology, and set-and-setting theory, this analysis examines over 200 narrative reports from 100 individuals collected between 1960 and 1964 as part of the Harvard Psilocybin Project. The accounts describe experiences with psilocybin, mescaline, and LSD. The work proceeds in three phases: describing the quality of the psychedelic experience, identifying how individuals integrate it into daily life, and outlining what these experiences reveal about the social construction of everyday reality in the United States. The aim is to demystify psychedelic experiences and generate more useful ways of thinking about psychoactive substances.