The Value of Experience: Psychedelics, phenomenology and contemporary perspectives on drug use

Abstract

The use of psychedelic substances has become an emerging trend during the last decade. Perhaps this is due to the substances effects, inducing processes of autognosis (meaning selfknowledge by the process of self-analysis). To better understand this phenomenon, fieldwork was conducted among groups and individuals in Oslo who use psychedelic substances with various introspective intentions. The thesis addresses individuals’ experiences and the sociality in between, situated in a wider cultural context by asking: What is the value of experience? How do these actors conceptualize, articulate and structure their psychedelic experiences? How might these personal experiences affect their social world, and in turn, how do the social context affect their psychedelic practice? Drawing on the analysis of ethnographic data, inspired by phenomenological theory, I argue the value of the psychedelic experience is the emotional, sensorial and affective experience of the psychedelic space, which stimulates new insights and novel perspectives (a ‘radical experience’). New perspectives subsequently lead to a change in habitual orientation. Other bodily practices, such as yoga and floatation, are recognized and practiced due to similar functions. Sociality around these substances is structured on the basis of individual intentions and preferences in outcome, as mindset and contextual environment (‘set and setting’) are variables that interact with the experience itself. The seemingly ineffable character of these experiences means that sharing them by the way of narrative, both in person and through other psychedelic mediums, help participants conceptualize and integrate these experiences into their existing cultural framework. These other mediums of translating the psychedelic experience, such as podcast and visionary art, become collectivization of knowledge on a larger scale. The sharing of experiences, communal knowledge and the contextual circumstance of illegality, create exclusive psychedelic communities. On the basis of these arguments, I suggest that in order to understand these communities and their behavior, there is great scientific value in interpreting this social phenomenon from the perspective of the psychedelic experience itself by utilizing phenomenological theory and methods.