Agency-First Epistemology of Psychedelics
Lisa Bortolotti, Kathleen Murphy-Hollies
Philosophy and the Mind Sciences April 19, 2022 DOI: 10.33735/phimisci.2022.9283 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 4 |
| Key points | Argues that Letheby's epistemological analysis of psychedelic drugs requires an agency-first approach to epistemic evaluation, which focuses on the skills agents need to achieve their epistemic goals. |
Abstract
Letheby’s book is an engaging and crystal-clear exploration of the philosophical issues raised by the use of psychedelic drugs. In this paper, we focus on the epistemological issues Letheby examines in chapter 8 and argue that his analysis requires an agency-first approach to epistemic evaluation. On an agency-first approach, epistemic evaluation is about identifying the skills agents needs to acquire in order to pursue and fulfil their epistemic goals.