Why don't more philosophers take psychedelic drugs seriously as a means of examining reality? Sean Illing talks with Justin Smith-Ruiu, professor of philosophy, whose recent essay "This Is a Philosopher on Drugs" tells of how experimenting with psilocybin and other substances led to a radical reevaluation of nearly everything in his life — including his views on the nature of reality. They discuss the roots of an alternative worldview in the thought of German polymath G.W. Leibniz, what it means to say — as Socrates does — that philosophy is "preparation for death," and why psychedelics aren't more often explored in contemporary philosophy.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Justin Smith-Ruiu, philosopher; author
References: 


"This Is a Philosopher on Drugs" by Justin E.H. Smith (Wired; Mar. 7)


Justin Smith-Ruiu's Hinternet (Substack)


The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is by Justin E.H. Smith (Princeton; 2022)


"The brutal mirror: What the psychedelic drug ayahuasca showed me about my life" by Sean Illing (Vox; Nov. 2, 2019)

G.W. Leibniz, "The Monadology" (1714)

René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)


Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason by Justin E.H. Smith (Princeton; 2019)

Plato, Phaedo (for Socrates's claim that philosophy is preparation for death)


Reality+ by David Chalmers (W.W. Norton; 2022)


David Chalmers on The Gray Area (Jan. 10, 2022)

Justin's review of David Chalmers: "The World as a Game" (Liberties, vol. 2 no. 4)


"The Death of Ivan Ilych" by Leo Tolstoy (1886)


How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan (Penguin; 2018)


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This episode was made by: 


Producer: Erikk Geannikis


Engineer: Patrick Boyd


Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall


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