On Drugs: Psychedelics, Philosophy, and the Nature of Reality

Smith-Ruiu (The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is), a philosophy professor at the Université Paris Cité, provides a winding, ambitious rumination on what the use of psychedelics might reveal “about the relationship between mind and the world.” Framing himself as “neither an advocate nor an activist” on behalf of the drugs, he draws from personal experience (partly as a rebuke to the “marginal” status of first-person perspectives in modern science) and philosophy to explore how psychedelics skew or clarify one’s view of reality and what that might mean about reality itself. Some insights are profound, as when he delves into the factors impacting consciousness, noting that “there simply is no chemical-free apprehension of the world” (one’s unique set of hormones and neurotransmitters significantly alter experiences of reality), or explores the simultaneous “ecstasy” and “terrifying dissolution of the self” that psychedelic trips can bring. While lengthier discussions of such topics as simulationism—the notion that the physical world is a model of virtual reality dictated by machines—can meander, they’re made up for by the author’s humility, curiosity, and embrace of complexityc. Open-minded readers will find much to chew on. (Sept.)