Jussi Jylkkä - - How (not) to answer the Hard Problem of psychedelic mysticism

Mystical states often accompanied by metaphysical insights present a significant philosophical challenge for naturalism. The speaker explores two central questions: whether these mystical insights are compatible with a naturalistic worldview and what epistemic mechanism could justify such insights. These experiences are analyzed through the concept of weak emergence to suggest that multiple valid models of the same underlying reality may exist, allowing mystical ideas to coexist with naturalism without necessarily violating scientific principles. The discussion then addresses the epistemological difficulty of justifying knowledge gained from non-sensory, non-empirical mystical experiences. This is framed as the Hard Problem of psychedelic mysticism. Rather than providing a definitive solution, the presentation challenges the assumption that our macroscopic observations and scientific models fully capture the fundamental nature of reality, proposing that direct conscious awareness may itself be a basic constituent of that reality.