On Drugs: Psychedelics, Philosophy, and the Nature of Reality

“Like the best psychedelic experiences, On Drugs estranges the familiar, familiarizes the strange, and returns us to reality (whatever that is) with a broadened sense of the possible. Justin Smith-Ruiu is simply one of the most interesting thinkers alive, and he has found an ideal subject for his peculiar brand of brilliance.” —Christopher Beha, author of The Index of Self-Destructive Acts

 

In the late, post-lockdown days of the pandemic, grappling with personal loss and existential uncertainty, Justin Smith-Ruiu found himself standing in a California cannabis dispensary, pondering a question his tribe of fellow philosophers have often dismissed as too simple: How did I get here? That moment marked a transition for him—it was the start of a journey Smith-Ruiu would take to experience his own mind and the world around him in a new, clarifying way.

On Drugs blends autobiography, intellectual history, and philosophical inquiry to explore the transformative impact of psychedelics on human consciousness and thought. Drawing on his personal experiences as ‘an articulate guinea pig,’ Smith-Ruiu argues that psychedelics upend our assumptions about the nature of reality—and thus force a reckoning with the very foundations of Western philosophy.

Provocative, profound, and deeply personal, On Drugs points toward a radically new way of thinking about the world and our capacity to understand it.

1146855210
On Drugs: Psychedelics, Philosophy, and the Nature of Reality

“Like the best psychedelic experiences, On Drugs estranges the familiar, familiarizes the strange, and returns us to reality (whatever that is) with a broadened sense of the possible. Justin Smith-Ruiu is simply one of the most interesting thinkers alive, and he has found an ideal subject for his peculiar brand of brilliance.” —Christopher Beha, author of The Index of Self-Destructive Acts

 

In the late, post-lockdown days of the pandemic, grappling with personal loss and existential uncertainty, Justin Smith-Ruiu found himself standing in a California cannabis dispensary, pondering a question his tribe of fellow philosophers have often dismissed as too simple: How did I get here? That moment marked a transition for him—it was the start of a journey Smith-Ruiu would take to experience his own mind and the world around him in a new, clarifying way.

On Drugs blends autobiography, intellectual history, and philosophical inquiry to explore the transformative impact of psychedelics on human consciousness and thought. Drawing on his personal experiences as ‘an articulate guinea pig,’ Smith-Ruiu argues that psychedelics upend our assumptions about the nature of reality—and thus force a reckoning with the very foundations of Western philosophy.

Provocative, profound, and deeply personal, On Drugs points toward a radically new way of thinking about the world and our capacity to understand it.

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On Drugs: Psychedelics, Philosophy, and the Nature of Reality

On Drugs: Psychedelics, Philosophy, and the Nature of Reality

by Justin Smith-Ruiu
On Drugs: Psychedelics, Philosophy, and the Nature of Reality

On Drugs: Psychedelics, Philosophy, and the Nature of Reality

by Justin Smith-Ruiu

eBook

$26.59 
Available for Pre-Order. This item will be released on September 23, 2025

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Overview

“Like the best psychedelic experiences, On Drugs estranges the familiar, familiarizes the strange, and returns us to reality (whatever that is) with a broadened sense of the possible. Justin Smith-Ruiu is simply one of the most interesting thinkers alive, and he has found an ideal subject for his peculiar brand of brilliance.” —Christopher Beha, author of The Index of Self-Destructive Acts

 

In the late, post-lockdown days of the pandemic, grappling with personal loss and existential uncertainty, Justin Smith-Ruiu found himself standing in a California cannabis dispensary, pondering a question his tribe of fellow philosophers have often dismissed as too simple: How did I get here? That moment marked a transition for him—it was the start of a journey Smith-Ruiu would take to experience his own mind and the world around him in a new, clarifying way.

On Drugs blends autobiography, intellectual history, and philosophical inquiry to explore the transformative impact of psychedelics on human consciousness and thought. Drawing on his personal experiences as ‘an articulate guinea pig,’ Smith-Ruiu argues that psychedelics upend our assumptions about the nature of reality—and thus force a reckoning with the very foundations of Western philosophy.

Provocative, profound, and deeply personal, On Drugs points toward a radically new way of thinking about the world and our capacity to understand it.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781324094982
Publisher: Liveright Publishing Corporation
Publication date: 09/23/2025
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 288

About the Author

Justin Smith-Ruiu is a professor of history and philosophy of science at the Université Paris Cité. He is the author, most recently, of The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is. He writes regularly for Harper’sWIRED, the New York Times, and other publications. He lives in Paris.
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