Epistemic phenomenology in psychedelic experience

Abstract

Psychedelics are being investigated as therapies for major depression and other mood disorders, but the “tripping” experience remains poorly understood. This paper argues that the epistemic dimensions of psychedelic experience should be considered more carefully, both to characterize better the psychedelic state and to develop and explain therapeutic approaches. I propose a tripartite framework for three phenomenological regularities in psychedelic experience—fascination, revelation, and improvisation—and I relate them to everyday epistemic phenomena like curiosity, insight, and intellectual playfulness. I illustrate these regularities with first-person accounts of tripping, and I impact my discussion with a broader model of adaptive cognition, arguing that psychedelic experience, while extraordinary, is best understood as a modification of familiar processes. I conclude with recommendations for new approaches to clinical measurement in psychotherapeutic settings.