Mind, Matter, and Mushroom: Shifting Ontological Understandings of Psychedelic Healing and Legitimate Knowledge

Abstract

This paper examines the interplay between ontology, epistemology and interest in psilocybin therapy, highlighting how ontological beliefs influence what is considered legitimate knowledge. The paper posits three approaches to psilocybin healing: the religious-idealist approach popular in early usage, the secular-materialist approach common with scientists and the secular-materialist-idealist hybrid approach, as seen in Michael Pollan’s work. I argue that the secular-materialist approach aligns with the financial interests of psilocybin therapy companies by privileging institutional knowledge. I conclude the paper by considering how different ontological understandings of psilocybin healing lend different levels of epistemological legitimacy to non-institutional actors like psychonauts and healers.

Keywords: psilocybin; therapy; psychedelics; patents; Michael Pollan