Philosophy and Psychedelics; The Big Questions

The Signs of Life Psychology is proud to host:

Philosophy and Psychedelics. The Big Questions
 
Wisdom practices have long been bound to psychedelic experience and exploration. In fact, much of the wisdom of philosophy may be indebted to the historical use of Kykeon, a fact commonly forgotten in light of the Apollonian bias of contemporary philosophy. In this evening of dialogue and discussion, the panel will discuss the big questions raised by psychedelic experiences.

How might philosophy begin to comprehend the exceptional experiences that psychedelics have afforded human beings in various cultures across history? What does philosophical thought and analysis have to offer to the project of understanding psychedelics and psychedelic experiences and how may psychedelics, in turn, inform and influence philosophical modes of thought and behaviour?

Join  our panel of philosophers: Dr Traill Dowie, Dr Chris Letheby and Dr Sam Douglas for a deep dive into philosophy, psychedelics and the big questions. This event will elicit diverse and dynamic dialogue between the panel members. Participants will be invite to join this rich discussion and break for social/community connection.

Dr Chris Letheby is a Lecturer in Philosophy at The University of Western Australia (UWA). His areas of specialization are philosophy of mind, philosophy of cognitive science, and philosophy of neuroscience. His research interests include the causal mechanisms and epistemic status of transformative spiritual practices, the possibility of a "naturalistic spirituality", and the nature of self-awareness. At UWA he teaches topics including logic, epistemology, philosophy of science, and philosophy of psychology and psychiatry.

Letheby’s research to date has focused mainly on the use of classic psychedelic drugs in neuroscience and psychiatry. In several articles and a book, he has argued that a traditional conception of psychedelics as agents of insight and spirituality can be reconciled with naturalism, the philosophical position that the natural world is all there is. He takes a neurophilosophical approach, grounding his analyses in scientific findings, and he has engaged in several interdisciplinary collaborations with neuroscientists and psychologists.

Letheby’s monograph Philosophy of Psychedelics was published in 2021 by Oxford University Press. An open-access symposium on the book was published in 2022 by the journal Philosophy and the Mind Sciences, and a book forum [link:] in The Polyphony, Durham University’s Medical Humanities web platform. The book has received two awards to date, both from The University of Adelaide (where he worked as a postdoc while writing it): the Faculty of Arts Prize for Outstanding Research by an Early Career Researcher and the School of Humanities Early Career Prize for best publication in 2021. A Spanish translation of the book is out now from Editorial Bauplan.

Dr Traill Dowie is a philosopher, academic, psychotherapist. He holds dual PhDs in Philosophy and Psychiatry. Traill is an associate professor of psychotherapy at Ikon Institute, a research fellow at La Trobe University in Philosophy, He has trained with the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and completed their clinician qualification.

Dr. Sam Douglas - President

Samuel Douglas is a PhD-qualified philosopher with 15 years of teaching and research experience in professional ethics, philosophy of language, education, and critical thinking at the University of Newcastle (Australia.)

Behind the scenes of his studies and academic work, Samuel has been involved with plant medicine and psychedelic communities in Australia for over 20 years. His passion for writing and advocacy in this area led to his involvement in (and eventual presidency of) the Australian Psychedelic Society. During his time with the society he has coordinated the drafting of its code of ethics, facilitated mutiple subissions to governemnt & regualtory bodies, and pursued a model of leaderhsip as holding space.

Samuel is also a psychedelic-focused content writer and editor via his business, Psychedelic Overground, having worked with organisations such as Third Wave, F.I.V.E., and Synergetic Press. In his down-time, he is an avid gamer, gardener and beach-goer.

MC:  Dr Julien Tempone-Wiltshire is a philosopher, psychotherapist, and senior lecturer. He holds a PhD, Master of Social Work, Honors in Philosophy of Science from the ANU, and a Bachelor in Integrative Psychotherapy.  His academic research interests concern philosophy of mind and psychological practice, cognitive science and neuroscience, indigenous knowledges, eastern contemplative traditions, psychedelic research and the study of trauma. He has published in the Journals of Consciousness Studies; Process Studies; Indian Philosophy: Philosophy International and Psychotherapy and Counselling Today. His current research interest concerns the intersection of western psychology with Indigenous and eastern contemplative traditions. 

Hosted by 

Dr. Alana Roy

FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, PSYCHOLOGIST, SOCIAL WORKER, ADVOCATE

Dr Alana (Lani) Roy is the Founder of The Signs of Life Psychology. She is an Associate Research Fellow at Swinburne University and a Founding  Member of the Australian Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Practitioners (AMAPP). She is a psychologist, social worker, and therapist and has spent the last 15 years working in mental health, suicide prevention, trauma, sexual abuse, family violence, and the disability sector.

Lani has worked with borderline personality and dissociative identity disorder in various roles in the community, such as rape crisis centres with victims of ritual abuse; childhood and adult sexual assault; supporting women in the sex industry; and survivors of human trafficking. She specialises in complex trauma, disabilities and dual diagnosis, and working with the Deaf community by providing therapy in Auslan sign language. Lani also specialises in preparation and integration in the field of psychedelic and sexual abuse survivors, particularly with Ayahuasca and the vegetelista dieta process.

For more information about her personal journey towards healing and psychedelics please click here.

Lani provides a range of educational and group-based psychedelic programs. She is a board-approved psychology supervisor and provides psychology, social work, and biomedical student placements and supervision across Deakin, Monash, Victoria University, Psychedelic Research in Science and Medicine (PRISM), Entheogenesis Australia (EGA) and the Mental Health Foundation. Lani coordinates the psychedelic and plant medicine Mental Health Professional Network (MHPN). Lani has taught as an Australian teacher on Psychedelics Today Navigating Psychedelics for Clinicians and other Australian Psychedelic programs.

Lani is currently apprenticing under Saj Ravi from The Psychedelic Somatic Institute of Psychotherapy in America for cannabis and ketamine assisted psychotherapy.

Lani has begun providing Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) for clients accessing ketamine treatment in Australia with partnering clinical organisations. She is currently working on a range of research trials focusing on psilocybin and Ayahuasca.