Psychedelic Experience

Psychedelic experiences, which can also be induced by meditation, are mind-revealing. A unified framework explains experiences from psychedelics, meditation, or both, illuminating commonalities like lasting mindfulness gains and mystical experiences. This framework also shows how psychedelic experiences can serve as tools for doing philosophy, reviving an ancient approach that blends analytic methods with psychedelic techniques.

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Abstract

Abstract Psychedelic Experience presents a philosophical account of psychedelic experience. A central premise of the book is that such experiences are mind-revealing experiences and that they can be induced by means other than psychedelics. In particular, the book argues that psychedelic experiences can also be had as the result of meditation. The book then presents a unified conceptual framework for thinking about the different kinds of psychedelic experiences one may have as a result of psychedelics, meditation, and their combination. This framework is then used to shed new light on various commonalities between psychedelics and meditation, such as the ability to promote long-lasting increases in mindfulness and their reputation for inducing mystical experiences. Finally, the book uses these new philosophical resources to flip things around and shine the light back on philosophy itself, arguing that psychedelic experiences can be used as tools for doing philosophy. The result is a new approach to philosophy (or the revival of an ancient one), which integrates traditional analytic methods with a range of psychedelic techniques.