# LLM Plan of [[the aesthetics]] paper ## Psychedelic Aesthetic Experiences as Reflexive [[Intellectual Pursuits]]”** a rough LLM created text for [[psychedelic aesthetics]] ### Introduction - This paper aims to investigate how psychedelic experiences may be understood as aesthetic engagements with one’s own cognitive processes, using Schellekens’s concept of [[intellectual pursuits]]. - It also examines Letheby’s view of opacity in psychedelic cognition, extending it to include the reflexive aspect of recognising how mental contents are organised. - The paper situates these ideas within an established philosophical framework of [[aesthetic experience]], examining whether introspective self-discovery qualifies as an artistic or quasi-artistic activity. - A main claim in this discussion is that what seems “novel” in psychedelics partly results from altered experiential structure, not solely from unfamiliar content. - The paper maintains that examining one’s own mental architecture can be regarded as an aesthetic pursuit, comparable to understanding complex theories or philosophical arguments. - It addresses whether these states may be instances of [[aesthetic pleasure]] grounded in epistemic curiosity. - The proposal is that psychedelic states enable individuals to explore their own experience as though it were an artefact, providing additional perspectives on how subjects engage in aesthetic reflection. - Finally, the paper explains how these ideas connect with broader inquiries in philosophy of mind, aesthetics, and consciousness research. ### [[The Aesthetics]] of [[Intellectual Pursuits]] - Schellekens’s account indicates that [[aesthetic experience]] can occur through careful consideration of abstract ideas, emphasising the satisfaction derived from identifying structural or conceptual coherence. - This perspective challenges the assumption that aesthetics is confined to sense-perceptible objects, thereby including intellectual activities such as mathematical proofs or philosophical reflection. - A notable aspect is the “coming-to-know” process, where the subject’s gradual recognition of conceptual unity or structural elegance produces a form of epistemic satisfaction. - Such accounts illustrate how knowledge-oriented activities may yield pleasure similar to that derived from appreciating physical artworks. - [[The question]] of how [[aesthetic value]] applies to intangible cognitive objects parallels discussions of [[conceptual art]], where materiality is not always the primary focus. - Scholars note that, in many instances, aesthetic appeal lies in identifying underlying connections rather than simply noting surface features. - This notion aligns with philosophical curiosity, indicating that the satisfaction gained from solving theoretical puzzles may have an [[aesthetic dimension]]. - Therefore, insights from Schellekens’s framework support viewing internal experience—including psychedelic alterations—as potential sources of aesthetic interest. ### Situating [[Psychedelic Experience]] - The term “psychedelic” derives from roots meaning “mind-revealing” or “soul-manifesting,” emphasising how these substances provide access to previously unrecognised aspects of consciousness. - Letheby’s interpretation, informed by Metzinger’s concept of opacity, holds that psychedelics foster awareness of [[mental states]] as constructed representations rather than as transparent views of reality. - This approach indicates that subjects become aware of the “vehicle” of thought, observing how particular experiences emerge through complex cognitive processes. - Psychedelics thus enable individuals to separate from their usual perceptual or conceptual frameworks, examining the scaffolding of their experience in detail. - Empirical work suggests that such shifts are not simply illusory and may correlate with therapeutic changes, indicating that these altered states can produce lasting reported effects. - Many participants in psychedelic studies report feelings of unity and connectedness, as well as experiences of directly perceiving the mechanics of their cognitive processes. - These observations raise questions about whether such reflexive engagements with one’s own mind may be interpreted as aesthetic phenomena, given the interest reported. - The paper expands on these points to show how psychedelics might broaden established theories of aesthetic experience by shifting attention to the mind’s internal structure. ### Psychedelics as an Intellectual Pursuit - Psychedelic experiences frequently include active exploration of novel ideas, imaginative sequences, or philosophical insights, aligning with Schellekens’s notion of intellectually oriented aesthetic practice. - Such experiences may reveal new patterns of meaning, comparable to scientific or philosophical insights, but centred in the experiential domain of consciousness. - Reflective engagement during a psychedelic session, where individuals test, modify, or reorganise their mental schemas, can parallel the intellectual interest observed in classical modes of inquiry. - The subsequent sense of discovery implies a significant overlap between the “intellectual” domain and the emotion-related, perception-based domain of aesthetics. - The paper includes anecdotal evidence from psychedelic accounts to demonstrate how participants often regard their altered perceptions and thoughts as challenging puzzles or conceptual terrains. - This puzzle-like element emphasises the “coming-to-know” process, through which novel perspectives or “aha” moments arise during the altered state. - These experiences, like aesthetic appreciation, depend on identifying coherence or novelty within subjective mental domains rather than simply perceiving external stimuli. - Hence, the intellectual pursuit encompasses not only content-based introspection but also the active organisation of one’s perceptual and cognitive field under psychedelic influence. ### The Role of Opacity and Vehicle Properties - Letheby’s focus on opacity is relevant here, as it indicates how subjects under psychedelics become strongly aware of how their representations are formed and maintained. - This awareness may be aesthetically engaging, resembling the curiosity that motivates one to understand how an artwork is constructed or how a mathematical proof develops. - The paper proposes that this meta-awareness has a distinctive character under psychedelics, since it frequently unfolds in real time, with the subject observing each fluctuation of thought and sensation. - Consequently, the medium of experience—“vehicle properties”—becomes the focus of aesthetic examination, challenging standard assumptions that aesthetic objects must be external or tangible. - Another aspect of opacity involves heightened reflexivity about emotional patterns and behavioural tendencies, allowing users to observe how particular perspectives are supported or altered. - This direct engagement with one’s own mind parallels the aesthetic observer who examines how the elements of a composition operate together. - By focusing on vehicle properties, the subject treats consciousness as an artefact open to interpretation and modification, resembling traditional aesthetic practices. - In addition, the novelty reported by many psychedelic participants may stem from the moment-by-moment recognition that their own mental processes can be viewed as objects of aesthetic interest. ### Expanding Beyond Thought: Attentional Shifts and Reflexive Control - Beyond discursive cognition, subjects often employ attentional strategies to guide or shape their psychedelic experience, indicating a type of agency analogous to directing a performance. - This agency becomes evident in how individuals select sensory input, emotional content, or conceptual reflection, resulting in a flexible interplay between passivity and deliberate direction. - Such attentional shifts produce a different mode of self-investigation: rather than formulating theories, subjects coordinate how their experience progresses by adjusting attention. - This control introduces an additional level of reflexivity, reflecting an aesthetic agency usually linked to producing or appreciating art but now aimed at the mind’s immediate contents. - The paper indicates that this attentional component may function as a second strand of intellectual pursuit, extending beyond propositional thinking into embodied, affectively oriented states. - By redirecting their focus, individuals shape the progression of the psychedelic experience in real time, similar to an improvisational art form. - This practice is comparable to mindful meditation, where practitioners develop non-judgemental awareness, although here it is combined with the rapidly shifting changes typical of psychedelics. - The ability to alternate between reflective thought and non-verbal, attentional control shows how psychedelic engagement can be multifaceted, dynamic, and aesthetically oriented. ### Reflexivity in Psychedelic Aesthetic Engagement - Reflexivity occurs when the individual not only inspects mental contents but also recognises themselves as the inspector, making the act of exploration part of the aesthetic object. - This self-referential loop differentiates psychedelic intellectual pursuits from ordinary problem-solving, creating an additional level of complexity comparable to self-referential artworks. - Participants often state that they observe themselves contemplating or experiencing emotions, which can produce a heightened awareness of the organisation and variability of their consciousness. - The outcome is an emerging sense of “experiencing oneself experiencing,” indicating a type of aesthetic reflexivity with implications for philosophical accounts of self and subjectivity. - The paper proposes that such reflexivity may uncover additional avenues for examining the relationship between aesthetic experience, conscious representation, and personal identity. - In contrast to typical aesthetic situations, where the observer remains separate from the artwork, here the observer’s act of perceiving constitutes the basis of aesthetic examination. - By framing psychedelic experiences in this way, the paper aims to question and broaden established definitions of aesthetic practice, identifying reflexivity as a central component in emerging forms of aesthetic consciousness. - This analysis bridges the distinction between intellectual and aesthetic traditions, suggesting that psychedelic reflexivity is relevant to discussions of experiential artefacts. ### Conclusion - The preceding sections suggest that psychedelic experiences, characterised by opacity, vehicle-awareness, and reflexive attentional shifts, can function as both aesthetic and intellectual activities. - Referring to Schellekens’s view of the epistemic satisfaction of understanding, this paper argues that these psychedelic encounters serve as experiential analogues to theoretical problem-solving or conceptual art. - The focus on reflexivity, in which individuals observe themselves perceiving and thinking, highlights the aesthetic potential within consciousness itself. - Future investigations may refine these claims by examining how neural data, self-report measures, and philosophical frameworks intersect to enhance our understanding of psychedelic aesthetics as a productive domain of study. ### Assessment of Coherence and Elegance - The plan offers a step-by-step progression from Schellekens’s intellectual pursuits to specific psychedelic features, forming conceptual connections between them. - The sections maintain a coherent narrative, starting with foundational aesthetic ideas and concluding with a reflexive discussion of psychedelic engagement. - Each section employs multiple paragraphs to investigate nuances in external scholarship and the distinct phenomena of psychedelic consciousness, improving clarity. - The plan remains cohesive by integrating references to opacity, reflexive agency, and the aesthetic significance of introspection across each thematic segment. ### Rewritten Plan with Additional Detail and Refined Coherence #### Introduction - This paper suggests that certain psychedelic experiences constitute aesthetic engagements with the mind, featuring reflexive awareness, intellectual interest, and novel perceptual content. - Drawing on Schellekens’s account of intellectual pursuits as a basis, it questions the conventional assumption that aesthetic experience is limited to external sense-based stimuli. - A key aspect of this approach is the idea that the altered structural dynamics of psychedelic experience support an aesthetic “coming-to-know,” similar to appreciating coherence in mathematical or philosophical contexts. - The paper also includes Letheby’s ideas on opacity, indicating that attending to the vehicle of experience introduces an introspective dimension similar to observing the medium of a painting from within. - The primary aim is to show that psychedelic states can function as experiential contexts for examining the structure of one’s own consciousness in an aesthetic way. - Referring to participant accounts in psychedelic studies, the paper indicates that these states can include aesthetic pleasure through moment-by-moment identification of cognitive patterns. - It thereby proposes a framework in which psychedelic encounters operate as reflexive intellectual pursuits, deriving their aesthetic appeal from structural novelty rather than sensory extravagance. - From this perspective, the paper connects philosophical reflections on the epistemic facets of beauty with current research on psychedelic phenomenology. #### The Aesthetics of Intellectual Pursuits - Schellekens’s ideas emphasise that aesthetic pleasure can emerge when a subject discerns how abstract concepts or theoretical constructs cohere. - This perspective broadens aesthetic theory beyond sense-perceptible objects, incorporating cognitive processes that may involve limited direct sensory involvement. - Once unity and coherence are acknowledged as central to many aesthetic experiences, it becomes possible to recognise intellectual processes, such as mathematical demonstrations, as potentially aesthetic. - This line of reasoning suggests that the phenomenon of understanding can itself prompt an aesthetic response, paving the way for exploring psychedelic cognition through an aesthetic lens. #### Conclusion - This plan maintains that psychedelic experiences unite reflective cognition, attentional regulation, and reflexive awareness, creating a form of intellectual-aesthetic engagement. - By relating Schellekens’s discussion of aesthetic intellectual pursuits to Letheby’s emphasis on opacity, it encourages a broader conception of aesthetic objects that includes internal experiential processes. - This stance underscores that examining the structure of consciousness under psychedelics can yield the same sense of coherence-based satisfaction usually attributed to external artworks or logical demonstrations. - Future investigations can explore how varied contexts, experimental protocols, and individual traits influence the intensity and characteristics of these experiential encounters, advancing our knowledge of psychedelic aesthetics. - The revised plan integrates each topic into a wider philosophical conversation about cognition, art, and consciousness. - It ensures continuity by linking the theme of reflexive consciousness back to the core argument that psychedelic states exemplify intellectual-aesthetic experiences. - The structure aims to combine theoretical detail and practical illustration, supporting an academically precise progression from foundational theories to specific case studies. - This alignment potentially fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, positioning the psychedelic domain as an instructive setting for examining how aesthetic appreciation can occur when the “object” of interest is the mind itself. # ERC Talk - If I were going to apply I would have to get a consolidator grant https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/consolidator-grant - Excellence is the sole criterion – groundbreaking, feasibility etc. - Age does not make a difference so I can apply in the middle of the window for the consolidator call - Host institution is not a factor (allegedly) - Be mindful of addressing experts and general audience in the application - Tutorial videos playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtv6FnsXqnXAYRk6HCErwMxwML0ZKoMcy - Link the project to the CV Mini Hotel Genova check instructions # Listening to Hannah Kim's talk - Rise of the person: the speaker as a construct - challenge to persona Walton: - Thoughtwriting - readers try on words to express their own attitudes - the i often invites personal identification - The phrase 'natural ways' to express ourselves is key here. Is there a danger that - When you talk about prescriptive forms like sonnets, sesting, etc. I wonder if the case could be made that they are crystallisations of natural ways of expressing themselves. maybe at the time they became popularised - Are we going to get a clear distinction between them? No... - How unique is this idea to poetry - One idea would be about acting and standup being good candidates for thoughtarts? - 'natural ways' seems important to differentiate bad acting from good acting. think of someone absolutely murdering a joke. - authenticity # Brainstorm for the psychedelics paper Notes on psychedelic aesthetics chatting with this guy: https://chat.deepseek.com/a/chat/s/3a627cbc-39b9-40c1-bd96-77d7859ad52b and this guy: https://chatgpt.com/c/67974563-5e60-800d-a489-ded8810dbde8 Argues for the following characterisation of psychedelic aesthetic experience: the appreciation of the structure of experience. We appreciate this structure by thinking thoughts about structure, that is, thoughts with content, perhaps novel contents, about the structure of experience; but in the case of thinking about our own experience, reflexively we come to something quite different. Schellekens has argued, convincingly, I think as to the aesthetic pleasures of thinking about how things hang together. This would include scientific or philosophical thought. Psychedelic experience, on the other hand can make thought a) more opaque (in the Metzinger sense) and b) have novel contents %%need to explain why the contents of psychedelics are novel, is it differences in structure that cause novel contents, it does not seem it can be simply novel contents otherwise talking about one's trip would elicit a psychedelic experience in others –while in fact, very much the opposite is true–%% But the important thing regarding the thoughts one might have about one's own experience is to do with a). Not only do we have the novelty of thinking about our thoughts while we are having them - we experience the content properties, vehicle properties, and something about how one realises the other. This makes it a particularly interesting type of intellectual pursuit, and one with a unique temporal patterns to its phenomenology. I also wonder whether 'thinking about our experiences' is not the only way that psychedelic experiences can be 'controlled' by the subject.