Serotonin, Predictive Processing and Psychedelics
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Keywords

Predictive Processing
Reinforcement Learning
Unification

How to Cite

Colombo, M. (2022). Serotonin, Predictive Processing and Psychedelics. Philosophy and the Mind Sciences, 3. https://doi.org/10.33735/phimisci.2022.9320

Abstract

Letheby’s "Philosophy of Psychedelics" relies on Predictive Processing to try and find unifying explanations relevant to understanding how serotonergic psychedelics work in psychiatric therapy, what subjective experiences are associated with their use and whether such experiences are epistemically defective. But if Predictive Processing lacks genuinely explanatory unifying power, Letheby’s account of psychedelic therapy risks being unwarranted. In this commentary, I motivate this worry and sketch an alternative interpretation of psychedelic therapy within the Reinforcement Learning framework.

https://doi.org/10.33735/phimisci.2022.9320
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