Noumenautics: metaphysics - meta-ethics - psychedelics

by Peter Sjöstedt-H

Philosopher Peter Sjöstedt-H’s Noumenautics traverses the mindscape of metaphysics, nihilism and psychedelic phenomenology. It navigates through subjects such as the sentience of cells, the constrictions of consciousness, the metaphysics of might, the magic of mushrooms, the narcotics of Nietzsche, and the neologism of neo-nihilism – the last of which may itself cause flashbacks.

Tracing the fall of western morality through Kant, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, the book descends deeper still into a metaphysics further upheld by Henri Bergson and Alfred North Whitehead. This collection of essays and notes provides a most idea-provoking, educational, and original piece of literature for the thoughtful lay-reader and specialist alike.

Contents: I. Philosophy and Psychedelic Phenomenology II. Myco-Metaphysics: a Philosopher on Magic Mushrooms III. Psychedelics and Empiricism IV. Bergson and Psychedelic Consciousness V. Vertexes of Sentience: Whitehead and Psychedelic Phenomenology VI. Antichrist Psychonaut: Nietzsche and Psychedelics VII. Neo-Nihilism: the Philosophy of Power VIII. The Teutonic Shift from Christian Morality: Kant – Schopenhauer – Nietzsche IX. Schopenhauer and the Mind X. The Will to Power

Genres: Philosophy, Psychology, Mysticism

153 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Peter Sjöstedt-H is an Anglo-Scandinavian philosopher who specialises in the thought of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Bergson and Whitehead, and within the field of Philosophy of Mind. Peter has a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and a Master’s degree in Continental Philosophy from the University of Warwick, where he was awarded a first-class distinction for his dissertation on Kant and Schelling in relation to ‘intellectual intuition’. Peter subsequently became a Philosophy Lecturer in South Kensington, London for six years but is now engaged with his PhD. He is the author of Noumenautics and the inspiration behind the new inhuman philosopher Marvel Superhero, Karnak.

Reviews

[Tiago F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter is a fantastic writer, and almost all his work is very much worth reading.

This book was a bit different than I expected. Psychedelics is a rather small component of the book and his arguments. While interesting, if that's the main topic you're interested in, it's not the right book. Nevertheless, it's very enjoyable collection of philosophical essays, focusing mostly on Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzche, and Whitehead.

I specifically enjoyed the chapter of neo-nilihism, and it provides a very good thesis for the lack of objective morality, and our culture being shaped by Christianity's values, even if one is not a believer in their divine claims. Nietzche is not an easy author to read, but Peter manages to explain his philosophy in a very clear and concise manner.

I found the chapter on Whitehead particularly difficult to read. At one point the abstraction required was so great that I felt lost and had to re-read it several times. Although the subject itself is quite complex, and I'm also not particularly philosophically literate, so I certainly don't hold it against Peter.

Overall, a very enjoyable read, and certainly valuable for anyone that is interested in the topics the book covers.

[ar · Rating 4 out of 5]

My journey out of fundamentalist religion was deeply informed by an obsession with what Terrence Mckenna called 'The Implications' (my favorite example of his use of this term is in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaIAx...). It is not often I find someone who writes eloquently and thoughtfully about what the psychedelic experience means, though it takes up a significant part of my brain capacity. So there is definitely a bias here- I really am just happy this book exists. A collection of several essays on subjects ranging from Nietzsche's drugs of choice to Whiteheadian Psychedelic Phenomenology, this book scratches an itch I have had for a long time. Anyone who is bothered by the Hard Problem of consciousness enjoys a nice ego-thrashing every now and then, and takes the time to stare into the nihilistic abyss will certainly enjoy the writing of Peter Sjöstedt-H.

[Quentin Kemna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was at times fascinating and at times slightly mundane. The best part of this book was the insight that cells and basically all life forms have a form of sentience and memory, and that the idea of consciousness as modern psychology understands it within the brain, is deeply flawed. The discussion of Nietzsche's will to power was slightly less interesting as was the discussion of nihilism, though I understand why the author felt the need to delve into those ideas. Ending on an interesting note, panpsychism is one of those ideas that seems so wacky and out there that it may end up being closer to the truth than anything else. So kudos to the author for explaining how psychedelics can lead us to insights into consciousness on a much deeper level than modern psychology gets close to. In fact, its quite sad how far behind psychology is in thinking about consciousness, in fact it's so far behind that many have simply decided to stop thinking about it. Signs of a deeply unserious profession, far too interested in bureaucracy and maintaining its own status in academia rather than asking interesting questions about what humans actually are.

[Johanna Hilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Sjösted can be regarded as the most serious current philosopher on psychoactive substances. Most essays in Nomenautics are relatively short, and the concise language is a precious gift for a busy reader. What a joy it is to have so much content in only 130 pages. His sentences are short and concise, but the message lingers around using heavy weights. Favorites of mine were the essay of Nietzche's use of psychoactive substances, as well as the brief history of drugs in Western philosophy. Sjösted is well familiarized with philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead, whose wit and eloquent use of language has surely been transmitted to the work of Sjösted as well. In addition to being an approachable piece of philosophy for non-philosophers, the ideas brought forth are of extreme importance for building foundation for philosophy on psychoactive substances. Absolutely fantastic read!

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of essays. Although published on different occasions and in different contexts, the sequence of essays is a truly enjoyable read, whilst being informative. The author manages to write in a very eloquent, yet entertaining and informative manner, which makes it a captivating read. I especially liked the chapters on Kant, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche as I thought they put information, that I had floating around in my mind, into one string of related events and cleaned up my messy headspace in relation to the center points of the priorly mentioned, and their relevance for each other. My favorite essay was VII. Neo-Nihilism: the Philosophy of Power, what the essay on Nietzsche and Psychedelics lacked in informative character, the following two essays made up for and regained structure.
The essays are generally well worded and yet not too densely packed with information.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome. A lot of the ideas here aren't new to me, but they were organized and presented in a clear throughline that was extremely useful for me both as a refresher and a deeper understanding of what these thinkers are talking about. the schopenhauer - nietzche - bergson - whitehead - (implied deleuze) pipeline has long been a focus for me, at least in terms of the intuited potency of what it provides. But I have never quite grasped exactly what it is about it that resonates so much, and this helped tremendously.

fair warning, as a collection of essays, it ultimately ends up repeating the same couple of ideas over and over. Helpful for retention though.

[Edwin Oldfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant collection of essays concerning the topic.

Indeed, the book is not solely focusing on psychedelics, rather the deeper knowledge that psychedelics can yield when it is combined with these kind of texts. I found especially the last few chapters starting with the metaphysics of Kant and Schopenhauer, and culminating in Nietzsche’s Will to Power.

Personally, I find both psychedelics and philosophy highly motivating and liberating, a recommendation I would give to all who are up to the challenge.

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could read this book over and over again and still get so much out of it, it is so thought provoking! I prefer the prose-type writing with paragraphs as opposed to the dot points hence the 4 and not 5 stars. It was a little bit harder understanding some of the dot points due to their shortness.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Organically flowing series of essays intertwining historical ontological and ethical theories on questions of psychic phenomenology. He’s an interesting guy and insightful speaker and writer.

[Plato · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very psychedelic

[Brenden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable essays that provide decent arguments and better summarized lessons.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is interesting but there are very few pages that actually pertain to the philosophy of psychedelics. Most of it contains retreads on Whitehead, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer. Some of the arguments are a bit silly (such as his retort against Rawls' veil of ignorance.)