Beyond Phantastica

Analyzing and reframing the debate on subjective and beneficial effects

Abstract

The question of the relationship between the subjective and beneficial effects of psychedelics is one of the most hotly debated in current research on these substances. This question concerns both the mechanism of action of psychedelics and the kind of therapy we should be focusing on in the future. While proponents and opponents of the necessity of subjective effects clash over questions of value as much as over questions of fact, the characterization of “subjective” effects and that of “hallucinogens” remain imprecise. I suggest that the current debate ignores the possibility of therapies in which subjective effects independent of those usually considered would play a role, and that a better knowledge of subjective effects is needed if the various options are to be properly evaluated.