Although we are a very long way from that depth of understanding, our pheno-
technology is rapidly improving and will bring with it ethical and political conse-
quences. These concern both the individual whose consciousness is altered and
societies that have to decide whether any technologies or areas of phenospace
should be made illegal, and if so, how to enforce such prohibition.
Many procedures can be used to explore the far reaches of phenospace, and some
life experiences bring us closer to them whether we want it or not. In Chapter 15,
we will explore spontaneously occurring ‘altered states’ like dreaming and out-
of-body experiences. Here we consider mind-altering drugs (a chemical trigger),
meditation and hypnosis (psychological routes), and mental illness (pathological
causes).
DRUG-INDUCED STATES
Psychoactive drugs are all those that have effects on mental functioning or con-
sciousness (see the website for more on the main categories and their mecha-
nisms). They are found in every society, and human beings seem to have a natural
appetite for taking them (Weil, 1998). They all work by changing the action of
endogenous neurotransmitters or neuromodulators. For example, they may
increase a neurotransmitter’s effect by mimicking it, stimulating its release, or
blocking its reuptake so that its effects last longer, or may reduce the effects by
inhibiting release or blocking its reception in the post-synaptic membrane. One
reason the mind-altering effects of drugs can be so dramatically wide-ranging is
that even a single neurotransmitter can be active in many different regions of the
brain. By knowing the mode of action of a drug and understanding the system it
affects, we should in principle be able to understand precisely why each drug has
the effect it does.
Psychoactive drugs can be broadly classified into several major groups. All have
distinct effects on the brain and on experience (Pace-Schott and Hobson, 2007).
Discussed in more detail here are a few from different groups that have the most
profound effects on consciousness.
STIMULANTS
Many designer drugs are related to amphetamine, perhaps the best known being
3,4-methylenedioxy methamphetamine, MDMA, or ecstasy. MDMA has three
main effects in the brain: inhibiting serotonin reuptake, and inducing the release
of serotonin and dopamine. Serotonin plays a major role in regulating mood
and sleep, and dopamine helps mediate reward-motivated behaviour as well as
interpretive responses to self, other, and environment. So, not surprisingly, MDMA
has a mixture of amphetamine-like and psychedelic effects, including increased
energy, enhancement of tactile and other sensations, and feelings of love and
empathy, for which it is sometimes referred to as an ‘empathogen’ or ‘entactogen’
(Holland, 2001; Saunders, 1993). The effects, as with so many other psychoactive
drugs, are highly dependent on the setting in which it is taken. At parties and
clubs, the increased energy makes dancing all night easy, and bombardment
with music and light adds to the effects, but MDMA can also be used to enhance
intimacy and sex, or solve personal problems. When taken alone, especially in
beautiful surroundings such as mountains or the ocean, MDMA can lead to a
‘what is your favourite
region of phenospace?’(Metzinger, 2009, p. 221)‘for thousands of years
people of all cultures
have used psychoactive
substances to induce
special states of
consciousness’(Metzinger, 2009, p. 230)