Psychedelics and critical thinking.

[kidklmx]

Btw, that's not to say that the question of psychedelic delusion is not very real either. But at least I feel sane, sometimes

 

[Achten]

This forum seems to be unusually littered with psudo-science, absurdly improbable theories, nonsensical proclamations and other forms of bunk. Basically the result of poeople repeating what they have heard/read/been told elsewhere without switching on their bullshit filters.

Presumably most of the people who post here take psychedelics, which leads me to a hypothesis. Does psychedelic use reduce our capacity for critical, analytical thought?

A rough review of sources (both here and elsewhere on the web) seems to suggest that people who take mainly ergaloids suffer from this most while people who take mainly phenethylamines suffer from this least. Tryptamine users seem to fall somewhere in the middle.

This is all based on informal observation so before I get flamed by the zealots, it's an idea I'm playing with rather than a fully formed belief at this point.

I would like to hear people's view on the subject.

You mean the "id" or "ego" ?

Yes, psychedelics tend do disscolve those structures, allowing you to vibrate on the deepest level.

There is no box to think out of btw... but I guess that's pseudoscience as well.

 

[Thorns Have Roses]

I just think it's good to always question what you think and what you think you know. Sometimes scientific reasoning is the best way to do that.

Hear, hear. Skepticism and rationality are some of the most valuable intellectual tools we can wield.

 

[laugh]

I should point out that I've been taking psychedelics for almost 25 years.

you must be crazy

 

[Anon0631]

Conversely, from personal experience I feel that psychedelics can also increase critical thinking by helping to uncover, identify and question normative assumptions. Maybe my brain is a garden, psychedelics are the fertiliser but its my own responsibility to pull out the weeds.

NeverKnowsBest: I greatly respect your mind and what you contribute to bluelight but it's infuriating when someone slips into the "multiplicity of epistemologies" discourse. It kinda closes any conversation with a stalemate.

There is no box to think out of btw... but I guess that's pseudoscience as well.

Nope. It's neither science or pseudoscience. It's metaphor. You know that nobody is claiming the existence of an actual box. Right?

 

[Achten]

Conversely, from personal experience I feel that psychedelics can also increase critical thinking by helping to uncover, identify and question normative assumptions. Maybe my brain is a garden, psychedelics are the fertiliser but its my own responsibility to pull out the weeds.

NeverKnowsBest: I greatly respect your mind and what you contribute to bluelight but it's infuriating when someone slips into the "multiplicity of epistemologies" discourse. It kinda closes any conversation with a stalemate.




Nope. It's neither science or pseudoscience. It's metaphor. You know that nobody is claiming the existence of an actual box. Right?

I was reffering to the box being the ego, and the ego being an illusion, thus "not real". So there is no metaphorical box to think out of.

 

[Anon0631]

I was reffering to the box being the ego, and the ego being an illusion, thus "not real". So there is no metaphorical box to think out of.

Sorry but you're not making much sense. Firstly in the metaphor, 'the box' doesn't relate to the ego. Secondly the ego most certainly does exist.

If you're going to accuse people of using pseudoscientific concepts, you should probably make sure you understand what it means.

 

[Achten]

Sorry but you're not making much sense. Firstly in the metaphor, 'the box' doesn't relate to the ego. Secondly the ego most certainly does exist.

If you're going to accuse people of using pseudoscientific concepts, you should probably make sure you understand what it means.

In my metaphor it did . I am a huge fan of LOST, and they use another box-metaphor.

Benjamin Linus: Let me put it so you'll understand. Picture a box. You know something about boxes, don't you John? What if I told you that, somewhere on this island, there is a very large box and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it when you opened that box, there it would be? What would you say about that, John?

BTW, I know I'm not making any major points, just wanted to shed another light on the matter.

No harm in us having different opinions. It's just that I used to consider myself extremely scientific and lately I've been moving more toward spirituality. Which is all the same thing , IMO.
It's about realizing how beautiful life is and how we can get the most out of it. I guess I realized how women and life are the same. Not meant to be understood, just loved
Maybe that's non-critical thinking, very likely due to psychedelic usage. If it is, I am glad I got rid of critical thinking.

 

[bloodshed344]

Is there any proof that psychedelics lower the threshold for critical thinking?

Now I've never done a lot of the classics, but some of my greatest trips were spent laughing at how stupid the world is and being happy about it. It's almost like cognitive dissonance, I don't know. Everything reminds me of the song Dead Goon by Mr. Bungle, it's all carnival-like and evil and ridiculous. Nothing feels the same since I started tripping, but I don't feel anymore gullible, hardly. It's definitely the opposite... I'm so cynical it's scary.

 

[gremlin moon]

I think I understand what anon is getting at. LSD can create a temporary yet profound disruption of the thought patterns we call the "ego" -- having the mind-blown. After the mind has been scattered into the metaphorical aether, the "deeper" organizing principles of the brain bring most of the thought patterns back into place. In a sense it is like being in a room that melts away, you are transported to a place you cannot accurately describe and eventually are brought back to the same room -- yet the furniture is arranged slightly different, maybe something has been added, maybe something taken away. . . this is the critical juncture -- the aftermath of confronting the unknown and having returned. There are three ways people can respond:

1) Ignore what happened and chalk it up to a wild time.

2)Allow things to settle and observe changes in the thinking process. See if new insights hold up or if they are fantastical ideas that have creative and emotional merit but might not be directly applicable to this life. Or...

3) Admit the truth and latch on to the the fact that the highest people on the planet (including Jesus, Buddha, Jerry Garcia and the drummer from Tool) know that inter-dimensional aliens, some light-filled and good, some pure evil, use LSD and its natural relatives to communicate with us. The teachers among them help us fight against the Bug People and the Reptile Lords who are trying to control humanity by feeding off negative energy.

Waging peace on the Insect Overlords is easier than returning to the mundane world. I think subconsciously, somewhere deep, that there may be a rejection of critical thought because it ties us to a world that is flat and restrictive and we know that life is supposed to be more than that.

When those trees talk to you do you honestly think they have the answers of the universe? They haven't even travel around the block for fuck sake.

They communicate using the earth's energetic ley lines that the Pyramids, Chaco Canyon, Stonehenge and Epcot Center at Disney World were built on.