A Chemical Love Story: Considering Microdosing as Somatechnic Individuation Vis-à-Vis the Philosophy of Simondon
Chantelle Gray
Somatechnics April 1, 2020 DOI: 10.3366/soma.2020.0303 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Microdosing |
| Key points | Argues that microdosing as a somatechnics of knowledge production challenges conventional narratives of progress and development embedded in colonial, State, and capitalist apparatuses. |
Abstract
Research shows that due to rapidly changing higher education contexts, large numbers of academics are overworked, stressed, and dispirited. This is exacerbated by the fact that most academics do not view academia simply as work, but as a vocation. To deal with these conditions, the use of cognitive modification and enhancement drugs have become far more prevalent than used to be the case. In this article, I look at the phenomenon of microdosing as a somatechnics of knowledge production to think about how meanings of ‘development’ are changing and to what extent they are still related to narratives of progress, themselves deeply embedded in colonial, State, and capitalist apparatuses that blind us to the rich entanglements spread across multiple temporal and neuronal rhythms. I also ask how we can think philosophically about microdosing as a somatechnics of knowledge production vis-à-vis the philosophy of Gilbert Simondon (1924–1989). Especially of interest to me is his theorisation of ontogenesis in which beings and other aspects of life, including technicity, emerge/individ uate as dimensions of the entirety of being/life without affording primacy to human individ uality. I thus bring to light the value of Simondon's work to somatechnics and use it to critically examine the role of cognitive modification and enhancement methods in higher education, especially as pertains to microdosing.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on microdosing, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positron emission tomography microdosing: a new concept with application in tracer and early clinical drug development | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Set and setting in microdosing: an oft-overlooked principle. | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psilocybin Microdosing Schedules, 5-HT2A Adaptation, and the Age-Dependent Cortical State: From Intermittent to Continuous Exposure | 2026 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Daily Psilocybin Microdosing as a Receptor-Adaptation Paradigm: A Testable 5-HT2A Down-Regulation Hypothesis | 2026 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| It’s all about the relationship: The caregiver experience of supporting a person with advanced cancer going through an LSD microdosing trial Caregivers of advanced cancer patients in an LSD microdosing trial | 2026 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 3
- Microdosing psychedelics: personality, mental health, and creativity differences in microdosers Psychopharmacology January 2, 2019
- Powerful substances in tiny amounts Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs February 1, 2018
- Psychointegrators: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Therapeutic Effects of Hallucinogens Complementary health practice review July 1, 2001