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Everything is connected. It is understandable to discard insight on psychedelics as being 'brain-addled delusion' if the materialistic supposition is already i
by omarchowdhury 15y ago
Everything is connected.
It is understandable to discard insight on psychedelics as being 'brain-addled delusion' if the materialistic supposition is already implanted. Furthermore, such insight is usually overwhelming with assimilation into baseline consciousness being difficult.
However, the same mystical states have been achieved by many without the use of drugs - a gradual onset over a lifetime of discipline.
- VMG 15y agodownvoted for irrational mysticism
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
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- MarkPNeyer 15y agohow is it irrational to say everything is connected? if you can show me two things that AREN'T connected, you'll have proven him wrong. but you can't, because you just connected the two things you named by putting them into the same sentence.
- Jage 15y agoSure, you can make the argument everything is connected. I don't need to drop acid to realize that argument, nor do I plan on dropping acid because of some mystical, inexplicable revelation it brings on a bunch of space cadets Call it ignorant, I don't really care. I grew up with people that did acid, and their personalities shifted in a remarkably profound way, becoming much more introverted and quiet. Whether this was just growing up and didn't have to do with the acid, I don't know, but I know that as the only one that didn't do it my personality did not shift in that way, nor would I want it to shift in what I think is a negative manner As a side note, and something to think about, are things really connected or is your brain just looking so hard to find patterns it connects things that have absolutely no correlation? I think one of the great philosophical ideas of the last few centuries has been that reality may not exist and we interpret it-- which was generally assumed throughout thought before psychology and existentialism-- but our mind has an inner reality that we transpose onto the existential world. Aristotle was famous for saying everything has a purpose, but does it really? Or are our minds just finding a purpose for everything relative to our existence. Just some random mental masturbation for you guys
- bluedanieru 15y agoIt's not particularly irrational or mystic. That experience he describes is quite common for people who use mushrooms a few times. What is the difference between you and a chair? What makes your brain so special, and why is it so important that it continue to exist? Why shouldn't a stick held in your hand be considered part of your body (in fact, one of the big differences between humans and most animals is that, unconsciously, we do think that). And why stop there? And so on. They sound like stupid questions to dwell on, and they sort of are. They don't have concrete answers, but it's the asking that's important. The drug merely helps a person to honestly take them seriously.
- ldh 15y agoWell stated. It always turns me off when people use mysticism as a comforting hand-wave for things which can readily be be stated more plainly, as if shedding some rationality on a subject makes it any less awesome.
- billswift 15y agoGoethe was the king of that sort of irrationality. You might find the essays in Richard Dawkins's book, Unweaving the Rainbow interesting since the thread drawing them together is that understanding something scientifically does not make it less fascinating, if anything it makes everything even more interesting.
- ldh 15y agoThanks, I've put that on my reading list.
- kpennell 15y agoExcellently said, thank you.
- VMG 15y agoI'm not against philosophical questions. I myself had them while on shrooms. Still, there is no reason whatsoever to refuse materialism due to a mushroom experience, that is why I called it mysticism. The fact that your brain state alters because you consumed a tiny amount of a certain chemical should be proof of materialism. The statement that "everything is connected" is meaningless without defining what you mean by "connected". In some quantum-physics way your brain atoms are connected to the atoms on the Jupiter, which is fascinating to think about, but without any real consequence. This fact doesn't change when you are high on shrooms.
- derleth 15y agoWhy is Hacker News so closed-mindedly pro-psychedelic? Do none of you think there is even a debate to be had here?
- jjschnei 15y agoI think that HN is just open-minded. Psychedelics aren't for everyone, but everyone should have the option.
- derleth 15y agoExcept everyone who doubts the effectiveness or safety of psychedelics gets downvoted to hell. No debate, just downvotes.
- billswift 15y agoIt is actually a trichotomy: close-minded, open-minded, and so-open-minded-that-all-your-critical-thinking-ability-has-run-out-your-ears. At least a third of HN commenters fall into the third group.
- Symmetry 15y agoI'd actually say that the most important consequence of materialism is that everything is connected. There's no sharp boundary between mind and body or self and other, only atoms interacting.