Student Chosen Topic #5 - Simon Robson

 Philosophy and Psychedelics

04/27/2021

    My last blog might be a little bit off the wall, but I wanted to write about something that I have always wondered about. The connection and relationship between philosophy and hallucinogenic drugs. This has always been a topic of particular interest to me even though I have never used any of these substances. It just has always seemed like an entryway to a new level of seeing and understanding, that is so different it is hard to explain in our terms. There are many different psychedelic drugs and some of them are more powerful than others. The most commonly referenced would usually be LSD/acid and mushrooms. Mushrooms are a very interesting topic as they are even legal in some countries and some states are fighting to legalize them as well. For the most part mushrooms are considered to be mostly harmless. However, these are not the kinds of drugs that I think can really open the doors into new realities. DMT is another hallucinogenic that is extremely potent and although it usually lasts about 15 minutes it can feel as though you are in this altered state for years. I have done a decent amount of research in my own time about this drug just because I find it so intriguing. Most people report seeing some sort of deity while they are high off of DMT which is one way that it relates back to philosophy. Although it is not certain, some experts believe that DMT is naturally produced from our brains in our sleep creating dreams, others believe that it is produced at birth and at death. This is tied back to philosophy and what happens when we die. Do we see these deities as a result of the chemical in our brain? Or is it possible that this chemical gives us a lens into an alternate reality that we cannot usually see? It is very hard to say, but it seems to be obvious that there is some tie between philosophy and these hallucinogenic drugs. 


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