Define "Psychedelic"

[missingno]

copyed and pasted from dictionary.com

–adjective
1. of or noting a mental state characterized by a profound sense of intensified sensory perception, sometimes accompanied by severe perceptual distortion and hallucinations and by extreme feelings of either euphoria or despair.
2. of, pertaining to, or noting any of various drugs producing this state, as LSD, mescaline, or psilocybin.
3. resembling, characteristic of, or reproducing images, sounds, or the like, experienced while in such a state: psychedelic painting.

–noun
4. a psychedelic drug.
5. a person who uses such a substance.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/psychedelic


they sure are a valuable tool of an insight of the conscience/subconscience

 

[ebola?]

If we could resolve this matter by referring to the dictionary, this discussion would not have begun.

ebola

 

[psood0nym]

I thought of this thread while reading the Wikipedia article on psychedelic pop.

The fact seems to be that "psychedelic" is not really a distinct musical genre, as much as a set of musical/studio conventions which tend to push sonic and "transcendent" envelopes. As such, psychedlia can be seen as a permanent pathway for all genres which seek to stretch the boundaries of their own modes of expression.

This example from music underscores the need to either narrow the meaning of the term "psychedelic" if it is to have any consistent meaning at all, or to recognize that, as we are of a culture that charts these new and ever expanding vistas of experience, new terms are needed in order to orient ourselves in new conceptual territory. Our old language is lagging behind our new experiences, as it always will, but need not to the degree it does. Any hardcore tripper linguists in the house who wanna bust out some eloquent neologisms?

 

[Mjäll]

I agree with Jamshyd on this - I can imagine there has been a lot of discussion, but I just want to get my point across quickly as I don't have the time to read it all through. Apologies if I bring nothing new to the table!

As said, I agree with Jamshyd and I suspect his reasoning behind labelling DOI as the archetype psychedelic is its highly specific 5-HT2A agonism. I'm not too sure about the value of excluding other receptor agonism from the essential definition, but as a pragmatic point and a starting point, I can definitely approve of this. It is way more constructive and forward-thinking than labelling anything that is weird in any way as a psychedelic. The experiential and/or qualitative description of a true psychedelic is, to me, that it brings subconscious material to the surface in a way which includes, not excludes, the external - thus it, ideally, brings forth the true potential of a human being, beyond defense mechanisms and other "personality traits". To most people, the state of absolute "transcendence" or "ego death" is and feels incapacitating, because they depend on their "ego" to function (or, perhaps more correctly, appear to function), but someone who already leads a life of healthily directed emotions and a consequentially unclouded intellect should be able to do good even in a state of heavy psychedelic inebriation. The difference between sobriety and psychedelia to such a person would be a total focus on the passing moment, as opposed to a broader perspective on time and action. My reasoning behind this is unclear, because even though it makes sense when put forth as I did above, I cannot picture any action being conceived and realized during this absolute now. Perhaps reaching such a now is reaching a state of constructive passivity? That would be in that one has passed through the human barriers and is guaranteed to bring the utmost positivity in this nothingness or perpetual moment.

This became slightly off topic but I am - of course - highly thankful for any input on it. My main worry regarding this reasoning is that it indicates a type of thinking and valuing that resembles religious dito a lot. The difference would be that it assumes humanity as the source of "good" (an umbrella term and nothing absolute) instead of an anthropomorphic all, thus including - not excluding - progression through rationality and empiricism, in a way similar to how psychedelics themselves, as speculated above, provide an externally inclusive and unifying transcendence - not an exclusive (deliric) one.

 

[Mjäll]

bump

 

[Slain]

A state of constant stumbling over spherical objects.

 

[swilow]

The sudden ability to grow and control up to eight arms...?

 

[Mjäll]

u r being non serius, I should think

 

[knock]

Psychedelic is probably a useless description. Perhaps it's better to have a set of dimensions which describe a multidimensional continuum on which all psychoactive drugs lie.

Empathogenisis
Dissociation
Stimulation
Euphorogenesis
Endoaesthesia
...

I've drunk a lot of wine so I might be talking rubbish. I made up some words.

I'd also like to say I find a lot of similarity between low-medium dose Methoxetamine and low-medium mushrooms and they have different modes of action.

Also, what's important? Subjective effects or physiological action? This depends on your perspective - drug user or scientist.

 

[skillet]

I haven't read the whole thread, but I'd call psychedelia a state induced by most 5-HT2A receptor agonists.

Also, I kinda agree with knockando, except comparing PCP and mushrooms. I found PCP to induce a similar incomprehensibility of everyday subjects, but lacking the 'understanding everything on a different level' effect of mushrooms/psychedelics. It still feels psychedelic, in some way, but is also very different.

I personally don't believe in "micro-pharmacology", that is, I simply refuse to accept the notion that so and so receptor does this and that. I think the effects of any drug are an emergent phenomenon of a combination of all its effects in all parts of the brain, some inhibitory, some excitatory...etc. But they cannot be attributed to certain things when taken alone.

That's why I think we need highly selective drugs, to see what exactly different receptors do. Of course you still have the issues of selectivity between different brain regions/functional selectivity to deal with...

Edit: To \/, yeah I think so, I'd call ketamine a dissociative.

 

[Visitor Q]

Can we really restrict the term to serotonergic substances only?...

Erowid considers Ketamine to be a psychedelic.

 

[Sentience]

I conceded already that I was wrong earlier in this thread.

The drugs I was talking about are hallucinogens but not psychedelics.....maybe. There might be room to disagree on this, because datura IS 'mind manifesting' because you can hallucinate things that are not there....there are many stages of realms to that drug, and even if you only remember the fuzzy dizzy part, that is not all there is to it.