Opening to Awe: Psychedelic-Assisted Self-Transcendence and Positive Adult Development

Arnaud, Kevin O. St.; Sharpe, Donald

doi:10.1007/s10804-022-09419-2

Cited by 1 publication

(9 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Expanded self–other boundaries are theoretically central to many notions of developmental self-transcendence, supporting the hypothesis that psychedelic changes in sense of self could lead to similar long-term changes ( St. Arnaud, 2019 ). Significantly, St. Arnaud and Sharpe (2022) found an association between psychedelic use and positive adult development (a construct similar to developmental self-transcendence). Psychedelics further enhance many tendencies associated with the trait of self-transcendence, such as a sense of connection, gratitude, death transcendence, and meaning in life ( Belser et al, 2017 , 16–17; Watts et al, 2017 ; Griffiths et al, 2018 ; Schmid and Liechti, 2018 ).…”

Section: Psychedelic Unselfing and Change Of Valuesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Notably, St. Arnaud and Sharpe (2022) found that prior intentions and integration or post-experience reflection mediated whether psychedelic experiences led to positive adult development. Lasting value change is highly likely to be mediated by similar factors, as well as by the individual’s prior developmental stage ( St. Arnaud, 2019 ).…”

Section: Psychedelic Unselfing and Change Of Valuesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Multiple factors possibly affect the translation of STEs into self-transcendent values. Examples include: Psychological conditions and actions of the individual, such as intention and desire for self-transcendence, a sufficient developmental stage, personality factors, and efforts to prepare, integrate, and reflect on experiences ( St. Arnaud and Sharpe, 2022 ); Prior predisposing values and worldview, enabling one to see self-transcendence and self-transcendent values as meaningful goals or aspirations, thus fostering the ability to interpret experiences in ways that support value change ( Koltko-Rivera, 2004 , 17; St. Arnaud, 2019 ); Availability of viable cultural frameworks for interpreting these experiences ( cf. Koltko-Rivera, 2004 , 14).…”

Section: Self Unselfing and Value Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Psychological conditions and actions of the individual, such as intention and desire for self-transcendence, a sufficient developmental stage, personality factors, and efforts to prepare, integrate, and reflect on experiences ( St. Arnaud and Sharpe, 2022 );…”

Section: Self Unselfing and Value Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aspects of openness to experience might be related to changes in values. For instance, appreciation of art and nature is plausibly connected to “openness to aesthetics” (partly explained by reduced latent inhibition—the tendency to filter habituated sensory content from perception; St. Arnaud, 2021 , 99). Openness to experience is also related to absorption, a tendency to pay total attention ( McCrae, 2004 ), consonant with the unselfed mode of attention.…”

Section: Psychedelic Unselfing and Change Of Valuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Psychedelic unselfing: self-transcendence and change of values in psychedelic experiences

Kähönen

2023

Front. Psychol.

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Psychedelic experiences have been shown to both facilitate (re)connection to one’s values and change values, including enhancing aesthetic appreciation, promoting pro-environmental attitudes, and encouraging prosocial behavior. This article presents an empirically informed framework of philosophical psychology to understand how self-transcendence relates to psychedelic value changes. Most of the observed psychedelic value changes are toward the self-transcendent values of Schwartz’s value theory. As psychedelics also reliably cause various self-transcendent experiences (STEs), a parsimonious hypothesis is that STEs change values toward self-transcendent values. I argue that STEs indeed can lead to value changes, and discuss the morally relevant process of self-transcendence through Iris Murdoch’s concept of “unselfing”. I argue that overt egocentric concerns easily bias one’s valuations. Unselfing reduces egocentric attributions of salience and enhances non-egocentric attention to the world, widening one’s perspective and shifting evaluation toward self-transcendent modes. Values are inherently tied to various evaluative contexts, and unselfing can attune the individual to evaluative contexts and accompanying values beyond the self. Understood this way, psychedelics can provide temporarily enhanced access to self-transcendent values and function as sources of aspiration and value change. However, contextual factors can complicate whether STEs lead to long-term changes in values. The framework is supported by various research strands establishing empirical and conceptual connections between long-term differences in egocentricity, STEs, and self-transcendent values. Furthermore, the link between unselfing and value changes is supported by phenomenological and theoretical analysis of psychedelic experiences, as well as empirical findings on their long-term effects. This article furthers understanding of psychedelic value changes and contributes to discussions on whether value changes are justified, whether they result from cultural context, and whether psychedelics could function as tools of moral neuroenhancement.

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