"Psychedelic-assisted therapy occasions mystical experiences, which are strong predictors of its therapeutic outcomes. Perhaps because of their spiritual import, psychedelics have been associated with magical and supernatural thinking, religion, and even cults. Some members of the psychedelic research and therapy community have contended that psychedelics are scientifically and ethically dubious because of their associations with mysticism and supernaturalism, with some suggesting that the mystical model of psychedelic therapy should be superseded.
In this presentation, we address the controversy surrounding psychedelic spirituality and the mystical model with the aim of defusing this tension. We propose rationally and ethically respectable ways in which researchers can approach psychedelic mysticism. We argue that while researchers are at liberty to form their own personal views on the veracity and meaning of mystical insights, they are also required to remain faithful to the ethos of science. The question of the veracity of their patients’ mystical insights – and indeed any mystical insights they may themselves have as professionals – is not a scientific matter and can be bracketed, at least for now, as philosophical."
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