Peter Sjöstedt Hughes – Panpsychism, Pantheism, Paganism, and Animism
This talk sets out ancient-yet-contemporary philosophies that see the world as inherently sentient and alive, outlining somewhat-suppressed European ideas that may be of use in the endeavour to fathom non-European indigenous cosmologies associated with psychedelic use. The Panpsychism (that minds are ubiquitous throughout Nature) of Continental thinkers will be briefly compared to the 'Animisms' commonly associated with indigenous thought, revealing broad similarities and differences. As well as looking down into the panpsychological world of sentient trees, bees, and below, we shall also look up to the notion of a cosmic consciousness, a 'world soul', anima mundi, inherent to the universe – a Pantheism (all is deity, as Spinoza had it). This metaphysical view is often unwittingly alluded to in psychedelic trip reports, yet its global (or, cosmic) significance to interdisciplinary psychedelic research has not been sufficiently explored. We shall see how varieties of Panpsychism and Pantheism were common to pre-Christian, Pagan, European thought, and consider how these philosophies might now relate and inform contemporary fields in psychedelic research.
Bio:
Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes is a philosopher of mind and metaphysics, a lecturer at the University of Exeter, and a director of Breaking Convention. Peter has helped develop and manage the new postgraduate courses in psychedelics at Exeter. He is particularly interested in the philosophies of Whitehead, Spinoza, Bergson, Nietzsche, and Kim.
This talk sets out ancient-yet-contemporary philosophies that see the world as inherently sentient and alive, outlining somewhat-suppressed European ideas that may be of use in the endeavour to fathom non-European indigenous cosmologies associated with psychedelic use. The Panpsychism (that minds are ubiquitous throughout Nature) of Continental thinkers will be briefly compared to the ‘Animisms’ commonly associated with indigenous thought, revealing broad similarities and differences. As well as looking down into the panpsychological world of sentient trees, bees, and below, we shall also look up to the notion of a cosmic consciousness, a ‘world soul’, anima mundi, inherent to the universe – a Pantheism (all is deity, as Spinoza had it). This metaphysical view is often unwittingly alluded to in psychedelic trip reports, yet its global (or, cosmic) significance to interdisciplinary psychedelic research has not been sufficiently explored. We shall see how varieties of Panpsychism and Pantheism were common to pre-Christian, Pagan, European thought, and consider how these philosophies might now relate and inform contemporary fields in psychedelic research.
Bio:
Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes is a philosopher of mind and metaphysics, a lecturer at the University of Exeter, and a director of Breaking Convention. Peter has helped develop and manage the new postgraduate courses in psychedelics at Exeter. He is particularly interested in the philosophies of Whitehead, Spinoza, Bergson, Nietzsche, and Kim.
![The Exhibit ft @DontJealousMe [Breakin' Convention Future Elements 2013 music video] by Upshot Films](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ywr8HmHmIhY/hqdefault.jpg "The Exhibit ft @DontJealousMe [Breakin' Convention Future Elements 2013 music video] by Upshot Films")
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20:46 – *1859 not '69 for Darwin's work (apologies) – Peter