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> Maybe drugs are not as awesome as I thought. I suspect this to be the case. It seems to me that the a key feature with psychedelic drug users and proponents

by frenchy 10y ago

> Maybe drugs are not as awesome as I thought. I suspect this to be the case. It seems to me that the a key feature with psychedelic drug users and proponents is that they end up discontent with life [1] (and to a degree, with reality). They're often talking about how these drugs helped them see some sort of truths, but as far as I can tell, these truths don't help them interact with reality. [1] There's a good chance they actually just started out this way and I'm seeing a selection bias.

comstock 10y ago
Hmm I'd quite like to try drugs and am also quite discontent with life. To be frank, I think most people are discontent. It's the human condition. I see this on a personal level, but there seem to be some polls to back it up [0]. It seems like being discontent could have evolutionary benefit (always reaching for more rather than stagnating). [0] http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3354524 http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3354524
- xherberta 10y ago
  Have you considered hunting with sticks? I think you're right to categorize discontent or 'hireath' as pretty universal.
- frenchy 10y ago
  Interesting polls. There might be several different forms of discontent; and that they seem the same to us, but are not very similar underneath. For example, the girl who bing-eats ice cream after her boyfriend breaks up with her is clearly not doing something that would be healthy on a regular basis. This might be vaguely like physical exercise, where a small amount is good for you, but too much causes your body to break.
AnimalMuppet 10y ago
In "Escape From Reason", Francis Schaeffer said that modern humanity was faced with a total dichotomy: Rationally, there is no meaning, and we are just machines made of atoms. Any meaning (or even freedom) is in a place divorced from rationality. Faced with this, in the 1960s, people (including Leary) took drugs as a way to (hopefully temporarily) escape into irrationality, hoping to find meaning. But the problem is the dichotomy. Even if you find meaning in the acid trip, you can't ever rationally explain that meaning, even to yourself. You know it happened, but that's all.

by frenchy 10y ago

comstock 10y ago

Hmm I'd quite like to try drugs and am also quite discontent with life. To be frank, I think most people are discontent. It's the human condition. I see this on a personal level, but there seem to be some polls to back it up [0]. It seems like being discontent could have evolutionary benefit (always reaching for more rather than stagnating). [0] http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3354524 http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3354524

xherberta 10y ago
Have you considered hunting with sticks? I think you're right to categorize discontent or 'hireath' as pretty universal.
frenchy 10y ago
Interesting polls. There might be several different forms of discontent; and that they seem the same to us, but are not very similar underneath. For example, the girl who bing-eats ice cream after her boyfriend breaks up with her is clearly not doing something that would be healthy on a regular basis. This might be vaguely like physical exercise, where a small amount is good for you, but too much causes your body to break.

AnimalMuppet 10y ago

In "Escape From Reason", Francis Schaeffer said that modern humanity was faced with a total dichotomy: Rationally, there is no meaning, and we are just machines made of atoms. Any meaning (or even freedom) is in a place divorced from rationality. Faced with this, in the 1960s, people (including Leary) took drugs as a way to (hopefully temporarily) escape into irrationality, hoping to find meaning. But the problem is the dichotomy. Even if you find meaning in the acid trip, you can't ever rationally explain that meaning, even to yourself. You know it happened, but that's all.