Interdisciplinary Science Reviews
September 27, 2022
Christine Hauskeller, Taline Artinian, Amelia Fiske et al.
26 citations
The study of psychedelics is troubled by dualisms—subject and object, self and other, culture and nature, synthetic and natural, colonizer and indigenous, literal and metaphorical—that appear in both colonial and decolonial thought. Drawing on feminist and decolonial theory and a discussion of metaphor, the authors argue that research often lacks critical engagement with these binaries. A narrow view of coloniality limits critiques of contemporary capitalism, including the progressive colonization of the life-world and commodification of psychedelic experiences. Fears that decolonization is becoming merely a 'metaphor' implicitly reinforce the conceptual power dynamics of colonization. As a critical metaphor, decolonization can help reassess problematic distinctions shaping thinking, material realities, and experiences.
Interdisciplinary Science Reviews
January 1, 2023
13 citations
The authors argue that the current excitement around the biomedical use of psychedelic substances requires diverse critical analyses from the social sciences and humanities. Such analyses can resist appropriation and support community-based ethical practices. The articles and book reviews in this thematic issue show the urgency of developing psychedelic cultures outside the medico-pharmaceutical complex, offering inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives. Critical psychedelic studies challenge colonizing knowledge practices in historical and contemporary psychedelic discourse. The authors reflect on power relations in the psychedelic revival, arguing against fixed field definitions and in favor of flexible formations of consciousness and praxis. They provide ideas for deconstructing patriarchal colonial legacies and contemporary power dynamics focused on wealth creation.
Interdisciplinary Science Reviews
January 1, 2023
8 citations
The Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), widely used in psychedelic research to assess mystical experiences, draws on philosopher Walter Stace's typology of mysticism. This article shows that Stace's typology was shaped by dialogue with major figures in modern, transnational Vedantic Hinduism, an influence that has been under-investigated. The authors demonstrate how these Vedantic approaches to religious experience are preserved in Stace's framework and, through the MEQ, embedded in contemporary psychedelic science. The article argues that scientists' insistence on the MEQ's theoretical rigor perpetuates Stace's interpretation of modern Vedantic ideas, linking science and religion in the field.
Interdisciplinary Science Reviews
November 27, 2023
A. M. Webb
2 citations
The phrase 'Mind at Large', introduced by Aldous Huxley in 1954 in *The Doors of Perception*, is often taken as a philosophically legitimate term. However, a hermeneutic analysis shows that Huxley manipulated his discourse to imply support from philosophers C. D. Broad and Henri Bergson, when such support is not warranted. A reinterpretation of Huxley's methods and intentions is needed, especially given the increasing use of this term in contemporary psychedelic research, which motivates reassessing its philosophical value.
Interdisciplinary Science Reviews
July 29, 2023
Andy Letcher
The brain under psychedelics operates in a state where prior beliefs are relaxed, allowing sensory input to more strongly influence perception. This theory, called REBUS (RElaxed Beliefs Under psychedelics), integrates principles from neurobiology and free-energy minimization. The authors argue that psychedelics reduce the weight of high-level priors, enabling a more flexible and exploratory mode of cognition. This framework helps explain the profound shifts in consciousness, ego dissolution, and therapeutic potential observed with these substances.