Can mental causation influence evolution? “If you’re an evolutionist, you should believe in mental causation,” Peter tells us. But why?

This is the third and final part to our mini-series with the psychedelic philosopher of mind Peter Sjöstedt-H. The central theme of this episode centres on the relationship between mental causation and evolution. Peter begins by telling us that the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead had a far greater influence on science than people realise, having much to say on what is now the modern enquiry into epigenetics. We also touch on Carl Jung, the relationship between intellect and intuition, and the danger of confusing the atomised and fixed for what is most real.

Much of what we mention here is greatly expanded in the two preceding parts. I thoroughly recommend you check them out.

Listen to the first part here:

In part 1 we cover some core aspects of Peter’s approach to philosophy, and discuss how psychedelic experience may be brought to bear on this approach. We also discuss Bergson’s notion of duration, one of those less common concepts which I think is centrally important to grapple with if we want to characterise the real appropriately.

Listen to the second part here:

In episode 10, we pick up the conversation at the close of a discussion about the relationship between psychedelic experience and death. Loosely, the idea was something like that psychedelics, perhaps, offer an insight into what it is to experience a state in which your ordinary sense of self is at least significantly diminished, where such a state might speculatively be considered analogous to a metaphorical, and perhaps other than just metaphorical, sense of death.

We touch on Nietzsche, Bergson, Jung, Schopenhauer, Whitehead, Jordan Peterson, myth, telos, the relation between left and right, and Peter’s own meta-ethical view named Neo-Nihilism, a position which denies the existence of objective values while preserving the notion of subjective values. To this I try to promote to Peter a view grounded on an affirmation of life, construed as a transformative, adaptive, harmonising process.

Read more about episode 10 HERE.

Waypoints

• Whitehead and Epigenetics

• Mental Causation and Evolution

• Carl Jung, Archetypes, and Evolution

• Metaphysics and Evolution

• Intellect and intuition

• Part-making and whole-making, and Henri Bergson

• William James and A Pluralistic Universe

Support

If you find the show worth supporting, please share an episode and consider leaving a review on iTunes, or the platform of your choice.

Follow voiceclub on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/voiceclub_

Follow voiceclub on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/voiceclub.podcast/

More on Peter

You can follow the Ontologistics facebook page @ www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=2…464724&ref=br_rs

And Peter on twitter @ twitter.com/PeterSjostedtH

Peter’s book, Noumenautics can be purchased from Psychedelic Press @ www.psychedelicpress.co.uk/products/noumenautics

Peter’s website @ www.philosopher.eu

If you’re interested in reading a tight formulation of some key reasons to take panpsychism seriously, I suggest reading the following article: www.academia.edu/35860038/Panpsyc…uitous_Sentience

Music

Big thanks to Ours Samplus for the intro/outro music. You can listen to ‘Spell On You’ here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4ypU_3e_3E