Philosophy and Psychedelics Exeter Research Group

The Philosophy and Psychedelics Exeter Research Group aims to advance philosophical scholarship and debate on psychedelic experiences, substances, and their wider societal setting.

The recent resurgence of studies into psychedelic states of experience in the cognitive sciences has gained the moniker The Psychedelic Renaissance. The focus of these scientific studies has been upon the immediate medicinal value that psychedelics may bestow. Our research advances the philosophical study of psychedelics – research into areas including practical medical and environmental ethics, moral and political philosophy, postcolonial and feminist studies, aesthetics, metaphysics, as well as theories concerning nature, consciousness, mind, and self. We aim, moreover, to build bridges and weave webs to other scholars worldwide who have an interest in the history and philosophy of exceptional experience and practice, including cultural anthropology, cognitive science, law, medicine, theology, and psychology.

To this effect, we hosted the online conference Philosophy of Psychedelics: Exploring Frameworks for Exceptional Experience on 15-17 April 2021, and the hybrid online/onsite  conference on 28–30 June 2022.

We have edited an introductory volume on Philosophy and Psychedelics, that was published with Bloomsbury on 14 July 2022, a book which we have drawn upon to teach this subject to philosophy students at the University of Exeter.

An interdisciplinary group has been established with the Psychology department through which we host colloquia twice a month, as well as other projects.

We will hold workshops on the philosophy of psychedelics that will welcome researchers, writers, and figures globally.