Consciousness alteration is natural and universal among humans. We have been altering our mental states, through the use of exogenous chemicals, for millennia. As the philosopher David Blacker observes in his latest book Deeper Learning with Psychedelics (2024), “We seem to be creatures for whom unadulterated reality has never been quite fully sufficient.” We are…
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The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer is renowned for his uncompromising pessimism. His pessimistic worldview is based on his metaphysics, which he expounds in his seminal work The World as Will and Representation (1818). What he believes is true about the fundamental nature of reality has influenced his opinions on many disparate matters, including psychology, ethics,…
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Music is universal. It is found in all cultures and societies, and it is something which humans seem compelled to create. Even indigenous tribes who are completely cut off from the civilised world will feel the urge to create music, whether it is through drumming, chanting, the use of full-fledged instruments, or a combination of…
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