How Psychedelics Can Increase Moral Concern

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses how psychedelics may expand moral concern via enhanced mind perception. Psychedelics are known to induce a profound sense of interconnected aliveness and elevate the perception of consciousness in both objects and beings. They also facilitate the formation of new beliefs and reinforce existing beliefs. Thus, if psychedelics enhance mind perception, and entities perceived as having mind are granted moral concern, it follows that psychedelics may broaden the scope of moral circles by making different entities seem more alive. This chapter underscores the importance of context in determining the impact of psychedelics on individuals and society at large, and emphasizes that the expansion of moral concern largely depends on individuals’ pre-existing values.