Psychedelic medicalization, public discourse, and the morality of ego dissolution
International Journal of Cultural Studies June 9, 2021 DOI: 10.1177/13678779211019424 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ego dissolution |
| Citations | 40 |
| Key points | Argues that psychedelic medicine discourse in popular media naturalizes neoliberal and anti-authoritarian moral orientations as pharmacological and healthy. |
Abstract
Emerging from a diverse and long history of shamanic and religious cultural practices, psychedelic substances are increasingly being foregrounded as medicines by an assemblage of scientific research groups, media institutions, government drug authorities, and patient and consumer populations. Considering scientific studies and recent popular media associated with the medicalization of psychedelic substances, this article responds to scholarly debates over the imbrication of scientific knowledge and moral discourse. It contends that, while scientific research into psychedelic medicine presents itself as amoral and objective, it often reverts to moral and political claims in public discourse. We illustrate how psychedelic medicine discourse in recent popular media in the United States and the United Kingdom is naturalizing specific moral and political orientations as pharmacological and healthy. The article traces how psychedelic substances have become ego-dissolving medicines invested with neoliberal and anti-authoritarian agency.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on ego dissolution, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self unbound: ego dissolution in psychedelic experience | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ethics and ego dissolution: the case of psilocybin | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mystical and Other Alterations in Sense of Self: An Expanded Framework for Studying Nonordinary Experiences | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Consciousness in active inference: Deep self-models, other minds, and the challenge of psychedelic-induced ego-dissolution. | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 39
- Right-Wing Psychedelia: Case Studies in Cultural Plasticity and Political Pluripotency Frontiers in Psychology December 10, 2021
- Dark Side of the Shroom: Erasing Indigenous and Counterculture Wisdoms with Psychedelic Capitalism, and the Open Source Alternative Anthropology of Consciousness August 22, 2022
- The frontiers of new psychedelic therapies: A survey of sociological themes and issues Sociology Compass February 1, 2022
- Socio-psychedelic imaginaries: envisioning and building legal psychedelic worlds in the United States European Journal of Futures Research April 30, 2022
- Beyond the psychedelic hype: Exploring the persistence of the neoliberal paradigm Journal of Psychedelic Studies September 21, 2023
and 34 more in the library
Cites 15
- Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: immediate and persisting dose-related effects. Psychopharmacology December 1, 2011
- Quality of Acute Psychedelic Experience Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy of Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Frontiers in Pharmacology January 17, 2018
- The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic Drugs: Past, Present, and Future. Neuropsychopharmacology April 26, 2017
- Ego-Dissolution and Psychedelics: Validation of the Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI) Frontiers in Human Neuroscience June 14, 2016
- Constructing drug effects: A history of set and setting Drug Science, Policy and Law 2017
and 10 more in the library