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"They will give you "trans-rational" experiences but you still end up interpreting that experience through whatever cognitive constructs you already hold. If yo
by cnp 14y ago
"They will give you "trans-rational" experiences but you still end up interpreting that experience through whatever cognitive constructs you already hold. If you're a fundamentalist christian then you're going to interpret the experience through those constructs. If you're an atheist you're going to interpret it through those constructs."
Haven't done much research, have you?
A simple glance at the literature shows how dramatic a shift psychedelic experiences can have on a person. Its a highly creative class of drugs, and thus tend to inspire creation, not conformity or general past-experience umbrella-like interpretations. Further, there is an incredible amount of research that supports positive changes in individuals suffering from depression, drug abuse, and alcoholism, largely because of the creative, perspective-changing nature of the experience.
- s_baby 14y agoFact of the matter is set of mind and setting play a pivotal role in the surface content of a trip. You're deluding yourself if you think people don't often walk away with hand-wavey interpretations of their experience. My point is there is more to psychedelics than that edge case.
- cthrowaway2 14y agothat was a very abrasive introduction considering your gross misinterpretation of the post you were responding to. your idea, and the one you are replying to, are not mutually exclusive. reread it's thesis: "Psychedelics give an empirical experience that is undeniable but most people don't have the cognitive constructs to interpret that experience in a logically consistent way." put simply, LSD does not magically infuse cognitive constructs that allow you to explain or understand the actual experience that is occurring while you are tripping. consequently, the God/Death analogy becomes easy to dismiss if you forget that they are merely a best effort articulation, not unlikely drawn from previous experiences or beliefs.