April 4th iai: In conversation with Rupert Sheldrake re: Psychedelics

In conversation with Rupert Sheldrake: An exploration of the mind

4th April 2022
From Silicon Valley to the treatment of depression, psychedelics have entered the mainstream. And with them come new political, economic and philosophical horizons. Influential scientist and author of Ways to Go Beyond Rupert Sheldrake and philosopher Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes discuss the past, present and future of the mind.

The Panel
Author of The Science Delusion, Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist whose research led to the theory of morphic resonance and nature's memory. He has also written on altered states of consciousness in Ways To Go Beyond.

Thanks, that was a very good discussion.

Of particular note:

RS suggested that the reason that people from different cultures see similar images with a given entheogen, may be that this is a manifestation of morphic resonance.

I was a bit surprised that RS was enthusiastic about panpsychism - I didn't think he liked that concept.

I was also intrigued by the idea that a medicine could be made out of an entheogen, which would work on the mind without producing any experience! I suspect Rupert is right - if entheogens work to correct certain mental problems, it is almost certainly something to do with the experiences they induce.