Panpsychism and Spiritual Flourishing: Constructive Engagement with the New Science of Psychedelics
Journal of Consciousness Studies January 1, 2021 S. Ritchie
Panpsychism, the view that consciousness is a fundamental feature of all matter, may offer a metaphysical framework for interpreting psychedelic experiences as genuinely revelatory rather than merely illusory. Psychedelics research reliably produces transformative experiences, enabling neuroscientific and psychological study while also attracting philosophical and theological work on their epistemic and metaphysical implications. The article maps a mutually reinforcing relationship between panpsychism and the possibility that psychedelic states can be veridical, suggesting this congruence has implications for research on spiritual flourishing. This flourishing need not be theological but is consistent with some naturalistic theological frameworks, and the article aims to map the conceptual terrain for conversations about spiritual flourishing, psychedelics, and panpsychism.