notes: experience reports
This is where people may post accounts or stories they have been
through that highlight or depict a signifigance, or stories of
experimentation of any kind that you feel worth sharing. If a life can
change in a night, or love can occur as interchangably as a hello, then
a short record of an account can certainly have some point. Not that
these have to be specifically profound or anything, hell a night at the
movies could be a chosen topic to write about.
Experiences don't need to be commented on, so when posting, you
can simply check/uncheck the approriate option. Stories may have a
message or beg a question that you'd enjoy response on, if so you can
leave this open.
a better description to come?
forthcoming update
it’s funny how fast time passes these days. haven’t had time to touch the site, till now.
what’s episteme?
The intent of Episteme is to be kind of a ‘thought-lab’, where people can post, get feedback, perhaps a few cycle repeats and hopefully, figure something out for themselves, or even for somebody else. It’s only normal for a person to question things like their own existence, or the army of other potentially answerless things in life that just seem to occur with some mapped out but random significance. Philosophy and all it’s disciplines are methodical practices used to attain such answers. All these questions that gnaw at the mind like a dog and it’s beloved tennis ball, for the most part, are the key to understanding purpose. Knowing the how’s and the why’s may only be the first step a philosopher wishes to take, as life offers an inconsequential array of endless possibilities and ideas to think about. Philosophy, in this sense, is a key to the analytical door of your thoughts, the keyhole being a given philosophers will; to find truth and seek out their desired knowledge. Without this keyhole, your left with the key and the door, but no way to open it. Episteme hopes to provide you a community where you can hopefully find the keys you may not have been able to find yourself, so that you can open up those personal doors that are just begging to be opened. Truly effective philosophy is less then independent.
In this battlefield of thought, you may be wondering if you have any weapons in your arsenal. This is where psychoactives come in. Now it’s very important to know, that psychoactives are NOT a philosophical short cut, in many, many respects. Psychoactives are tools that can serve a useful function when used with care, responsibility, and by knowledgeable, mentally and physically prepared individuals. Psychoactives are not for everyone, and there are certainly lots of people who should stay away. That being said, there is an incredible potential for their utilization, and can go together so well with philosophy you call it romance. The logic is pretty simple really, psychoactives will modify your state of consciousness, and this modification will be more than noted in your thought patterns. Just the change in neurochemistry is enough to provoke and potentiate thought (often new ones). Now of course, this isn’t to say all psychoactives are equal, and that each offer philosophical promise and utility.
Episteme also recognizes the value of both practices in their independent glory. Not every philosophical journey must have a psychocative counterpart, and philosophical pursuit shouldn’t always be the tail end of every psychoactive experience. Therefore, I encourage those who just wish to discuss one topic to do so. I’d personally find it interesting to see people of different perspectives working on the same kind of thoughts, and to see the mental destinations at which they’d arrive to. All we ask is that everyone in the community respects each other, regardless of ideological differences. My biggest concern is the adversity psychoactive users stand to face, given the current societal ignorance. Philosophy is something that demands an open mind, and it should be easy for anyone who is a true and open seeker of answers to accept the ideas of others, and treat people who have unequal methods equally. I can totally understand anyone who is kind of afraid, or even might look down on psychoactives themselves. If you are one of these people, it’s simple. You have been lied to. Not maliciously, but lied to nonetheless. Regardless of whether it’s to protect you, or to control you, you have been lied to, and this lie has evolved within you to belief.
I’m not gonna get into it. If you wish to know the truth about psychoactives, don’t take my word for it, or anyone else’s. Conduct your own scientific research. Facts can’t lie like people can, nor do they have personal beliefs behind their own agenda to fufill. Only after doing your own research can you truly trust anyone’s opinion on psychoactives; your own. If you don’t wish to research or know the facts, that’s fine, just know that your opinion of psyhoactives means as nothing. Even if you don’t wish to use psychoactives, I recommend their study. It’s fascinating to see the truth, the exaggerations, the outnot lies, and suppression of certain knowledges. It’s also really interesting, because a lot of what you learn is new knowledge, and you’ll find it contrary to what you’ve been taught. It’s one of the closest conspiracies we can touch, and one of the largest vessels for ignorance that society has ever known. I’m not saying everything is a lie. Pshyoactives are potentially extremely dangerous. This danger was probably the societal justification to the higher ups for all the control, but the end doesn’t justify the means. I personally love the fact that drugs are dangerous. It separates users from abusers. To me, the dangers are very philosophical boundaries set by some higher power that decided the line between thought, enlightenment, mental power, and self destruction. I love how it’s not a person, but our own bodies and mind that dictate limits. Drugs wouldn’t hold the same significance without their own built-in boundaries. Drugs without dangerous consequence from overuse, misuse, or abuse would be an unparalleled danger to the world, and to the discipline of the human mind. All I suggest is that your informed, rather then afraid of drugs. We are inexplicably lucky to live in an age where honest, scientific, factual research is at our fingertips, accessible whenever the inkling may strike. Drugs are simply chemicals. If your scared of drugs, you might as well cower at a cup of coffee. You probably come into contact with drugs every day and don’t know it. In fact, did you know that you’ve probably given little kids drugs before? Every 31st of October. The Easter bunny could invariably be the highest animal on earth. (yes, certain concentrations of chocolate/cocoa are psychoactive.) On the day of your next check up, you may very well test positive for opiates in your blood. Your commonplace poppy seed bagel on the day of might be culprit. These of course are exaggerations, and are not comparable to the level of use. It just goes to illustrate that drugs aren’t some far and away, back alley-clad evil. Rather, their sources are natural, like forests and such. You probably consume a small amount of them every single day.
In contrast, the psychoactive using community shouldn’t look down on those who choose not to use psychoactives. This is obviously a lot easier to accept, and less of an issue, but it still happens. To psychoactive users who are doing so for the right reason, this should be a non-issue. But there are some who develop a tendency to condescend to those who don’t use drugs. This is primarily because the ignorance of the typical non-user can bleed through them like a permanent marker. To drug users, this is actually kind of funny, and almost a joke. In just the same way where we can observe ignorance comically in a movie- where characters will do things unkowingly affecting something they are not aware of, we can in real life as well. Blind ignorance is funny. Period. A drug user can’t help think it’s funny when they hear a non-user say things like.. “pot kills brain cells and makes you stupid” or “doing coke makes you addicted”. The problem, however, is when the user associates this ignorance with the person itself, and starts to look down on them. Another factor that may contribute to a users lowered opinion of non-users, is that when a user may have tried to talk about drugs, or say things like “no, pot doesn’t kill brain cells, coke use doesn’t guarantee an addiction.”, they were either a) laughed at, because the social understanding of drugs is contrary to the one offered(especially if in a group!) b)faced with people who are just unwilling to AT LEAST BEING OPEN to the POSSIBILITY of a non-completely negative perspective on drugs (which is savagely hypocritical, ciggs and alcohol are drugs too[hell of alot more dangerous as lots of illegal ones, I might add]) c)suspected of use, and the target of a lot of impulse judgements. In this sense, I cannot say the users’ harbored resentment is unjust, and it’s understandable. All I can offer is the notion of turning the other cheek, which is hardest to do when you feel it’s undeserved, but shows the most personal strength.
All in all, Episteme plans to be a community for open minded individuals to analyse the thoughts and ideas of themselves and others, discuss psychoactives, and psychoactive experiences, relay any information that you’d want to express pertaining to your own personal experiments, chemical or otherwise (meditative thought logs and such are more then welcome), so that we may all as a community and as individuals quench our mental thirst for philosophy.
It’s all about the chase
Content Disclaimer
Ok.. So here’s the deal. There’s obviously going to be be content at Episteme geared towards drugs, a subject which is abundantly controversial to say the least.
Here goes..
In no way does Episteme assume responsibility for how any of the content is used. It is hereby the responsibility of the user to evaluate the knowledge they are presented with. In no way can the Episteme’s admin, members, domain providers, or contributors be held liable for any problems, damages, or issues that can arise from improper use of information provided.
Though Episteme will strive for accuracy, we must stress that content will be heavily user generated, and therefore open to opinion, influence, and faults, so we cannot be held accountable for potentially dangerous inaccuracies that may be irresponsibly used and improperly researched.
Episteme does not condone any illegal activities, nor do we explicitly encourage the use of any illegal substance. Episteme is not responsible for any influence it’s pages may provide, as this is simply an arena for discussion and reading. Drugs are completely legal to talk about and discuss, as long as you aren’t encouraging it’s use upon others, or trying to facilitate an illegal activity. The site will not stand for any posts that can contribute to the possible execution of a crime (i.e. prices, locations, sales). These types of posts are strictly prohibited, and users who do nor adbide will be banned. Besides being quasi-illegal, it’s really not the purpose of the site.
Everything on this is site, is for purely informational purposes, and should be regarded as so rather then a definitive or final word.
With all that being said, I’d like to also point out that Episteme violates no laws. It is NOT ILLEGAL to discuss drugs, so don’t worry, as long as you follow the rules. So, put any worries you may have to rest. Things like this are protected under the First Amendment (U.S), and other such ideals that are put forth to uphold freedom of speech.
Episteme wants you to be safe. Second guess anything you read, and do your own independent research. Failure to do so is an extreme irresponsibility, and is a potentially great hazard.
no really.. wtf is episteme?
The Greek word episteme is often translated as ‘knowledge.’ (though it’s literally translated to ‘science’)
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, origin and the concepts of knowledge itself. It has historically been one of the most investigated and most debated of all philosophical discourses. Much of this debate has focused on analysing in detail the nature and variety of knowledge, and how it relates to similar notions such as truth and belief. Much of this discussion concerns the justification of claims insighted by knowledge.
Philosophers have developed a range of epistemological theories to accompany their general philosophical positions. More recent studies have re-written centuries-old assumptions, and the field of epistemology continues to be vibrant and dynamic.
Epistemology excersizes the key elements and fundamentals of general philosophy. Logic and justification play an important role in epistemologic ideas.
