'You cannot think of an electron apart from the rest of the universe.' Alfred North Whitehead, 1926 #WhiteheadEdition

Just published -- 'psychometric brahman, psychedelic science: walter stace, transnational vedanta, and the mystical experience questionnaire' -- a wild ride through the psychedelic history of quantifying mysticism tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…

Alan Watts' Introduction to Metaphysics:
youtu.be/uwzLu9p78Xw

Just gave a guest lecture to Prof. Farzad Mahootian's lovely class at NYU, where a couple of students had unexpectedly devised an extended three-dimensional jellyfish model of the Metaphysics Matrix.

Life on campus

'The brain ... does not serve to preserve the past, but primarily to mask it, then to allow only what is practically useful to emerge...'
– Bergson, 1912

(Pic: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham)

Exciting news: with Nils Schott, I'm editing Henri Bergson’s lectures at the Collège de France for Bloomsbury Books UK. Look for the first volume, “Freedom,” April 2024.

If you’re a fan of continental philosophy, please retweet!

bloomsbury.com/uk/freedom-978…

A thread, 1/16

'You cannot draw a line between the past and the present, nor consequently between memory and consciousness.'
– Henri Bergson, 1912
(Pic: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham)

'[To] prepare what will be is to utilize what has been: life therefore is employed from its start in conserving the past and anticipating the future… . Such memory, such anticipation, are consciousness itself. This is why consciousness…is co-extensive with life.'
—Bergson, 1911

Here is the recording of my talk & discussion with journalist/philosopher Wouter & Jessica, and audience, in Amsterdam last month as part on the annual Brainwash festival. Now an extra in the Dutch broadcaster NRC's series, 'The Mystery of Consciousness': podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6L…

'To know with scientific certainty that a particular being is conscious, we should have to enter into it, coincide with it, be it.'
– Henri Bergson, 1911

Feels like several days ago, but this morning I popped into the Morrab Library in Penzance. It’s an extraordinary place with beautiful rooms, views out to sea and a remarkable collection of books, photos and newspapers reaching back into Cornwall’s past. Strongly recommended.

#Pantheism : Mind of Nature
#Panpsychism : Minds in Nature

(Of course these are compatible. Image: Hilma af Klint.)

Only about 30 copies left of our very final print journal, Psychedelic Press XL, a special issue on 'Folklore and Psychedelics' - details on contributors & copies here:

psychedelicpress.co.uk/products/psych…

Edited by Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes & Jack Hunter

LIVE BONUSAFLEVERING
Met filosoof Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes duiken we in de ayahuasca, DMT en paddo's - én in ’the hard problem of consciousness’. Wat als psychedelica iets laten zien over onze metafysica: de filosofische aannames over de realiteit, bewustzijn en onszelf?

Luister nu:…

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

High Ventilation Breathwork practices: An overview of their effects, mechanisms, and considerations for clinical applications

2nd publication from my PhD

It was a delight to welcome undergraduate History students from Exeter University (Penryn) today to explore & be inspired by our historic collections and Victorian building.
#RareBooks #ExploreYourArchive #Penzance #LoveLibraries ILA Faculty of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences University of Exeter, Cornwall

'The modern account of nature ... has transformed the grand question of the relation between nature and mind into the petty form of the interaction between the human body and mind.'
– A. N. #Whitehead (CN217)