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#openmindedness — Public Fediverse posts

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  1. DATE: May 12, 2026 at 10:00AM
    SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

    ** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
    -------------------------------------------------

    TITLE: Are the benefits of psychedelics exaggerated? A new study highlights the problem of selection bias

    URL: psypost.org/are-the-benefits-o

    A study comparing psychedelic enthusiasts and people from the general population (who also had psychedelic experiences) found that the enthusiasts tended to report much greater positive quality-of-life effects. The enthusiasts also showed higher openness, extraversion, and agreeableness. This indicates that recruitment strategies in psychedelic research that lean towards including enthusiasts may shape the outcomes obtained in those studies. The paper was published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.

    Psychedelic drugs are substances that can strongly alter perception, mood, thinking, and the sense of self. They may change how people experience colors, sounds, time, memories, emotions, and the meaning of events. Classic psychedelics include LSD, psilocybin from “magic mushrooms,” DMT, and mescaline. These substances mainly act on serotonin receptors in the brain.

    In research settings, psychedelics are being studied for possible therapeutic use in conditions such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Their effects depend heavily on dose, personality, expectations, mental state, physical setting, and social support. Psychedelics can also carry risks, including panic, confusion, dangerous behavior during intoxication, worsening of some psychiatric conditions, and legal consequences where they are prohibited.

    Study author Jonathan Bendz and his colleagues noted that many studies of psychedelic users report extraordinarily positive self-reported effects. However, they suggest that this might represent an exaggeration of the real effects caused by biased selection, or even self-selection, of study participants. The issue is that the effects of psychedelics can only be tested on individuals who agree to use them. These participants tend to be individuals who have already had especially positive experiences with psychedelic use.

    To examine this hypothesis, these researchers conducted a study comparing whether the self-reported quality-of-life impact of psychedelic experiences differed between a convenience sample of psychedelic enthusiasts and a group of people from the general population recruited via Prolific. They also wanted to see whether the difference between the two groups remained after controlling for mindset, setting, motivation to use psychedelic drugs, and personality traits.

    The enthusiast group consisted of 583 individuals recruited through an anonymous survey posted on the Facebook and Instagram pages of a Swedish nonprofit organization that disseminates information about psychedelic science (Nätverket för Psykedelisk Vetenskap). A snowball sampling approach was used to reach more participants. The general population group consisted of 599 individuals recruited via Prolific (an online survey platform). They were required to have prior psychedelic experience, but were not recruited from a specific psychedelic community.

    Study participants completed assessments of the quality-of-life impact of their psychedelic experiences (e.g., “How has your most meaningful psychedelic experience affected the quality of your relationship with… family, friends, yourself, society, and nature?”). They also answered questions regarding their mindset and physical setting during the experience (“To what extent did you experience your mindset/environment to be optimal?”), their motivation (“What was your motivation for using a psychedelic substance?”), and their personality (using the IPIP-NEO-30 assessment).

    Results showed that the psychedelic enthusiasts tended to report a much higher quality-of-life impact from their psychedelic experiences compared to the Prolific group. The enthusiast group also reported having a more optimal mindset and setting during their trips, and they were more likely to report taking the drugs for personal growth rather than for fun. Finally, the enthusiasts tended to be more open to new experiences, extraverted, and agreeable than the participants from the Prolific group.

    Even after using a statistical model to account for these differences in personality, mindset, setting, and motivation, simply belonging to the enthusiast group remained the strongest predictor of reporting a high quality-of-life impact.

    “As expected, participants recruited from an enthusiast-leaning channel reported considerably greater benefits [of psychedelic use] than those recruited from a general-population platform. Even after controlling for mindset, setting, motivation, and personality, sample membership remained the strongest predictor of quality-of-life impact,” the study authors concluded.

    “The persistent effect of sample membership suggests that the two groups differ in additional ways not captured by our measures, for example in cultural expectations, social context, or demographic composition, shaping reported outcomes. These results underscore the need for caution when interpreting findings from psychedelic studies that rely on highly engaged user populations.”

    The study sheds light on important methodological issues that studies of psychedelic effects face. However, the authors note some limitations. For example, the two groups had demographic differences; the general sample was overwhelmingly from the United States, while the enthusiast sample lacked country-of-residence data for most participants (though a portion resided in Sweden). This introduces the possibility of cross-cultural differences influencing the results.

    Additionally, it should be noted that the Prolific sample likely included many psychedelic enthusiasts as well. Because of this, the difference between the two groups in this study likely underestimates the true difference between the general population and psychedelic enthusiasts.

    The paper, “Selection Bias in Psychedelic Research: Comparing Self-Reported Quality-Of-Life Impact Between Enthusiasts and a General Population Sample,” was authored by Jonathan Bendz, Linus Schäfer, David Sjöström, Sverker Sikström, and Petri Kajonius.

    URL: psypost.org/are-the-benefits-o

    -------------------------------------------------

    DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.

    Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: clinicians-exchange.org

    Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

    NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

    Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: nationalpsychologist.com

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    It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

    -------------------------------------------------

    #psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #Psychedelics #SelectionBias #QualityOfLife #PsychedelicResearch #StudyBias #OpenMindedness #PersonalityTraits #MentalHealthResearch #TherapeuticPsychedelics #ScientificCaution

  2. DATE: May 12, 2026 at 10:00AM
    SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

    ** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
    -------------------------------------------------

    TITLE: Are the benefits of psychedelics exaggerated? A new study highlights the problem of selection bias

    URL: psypost.org/are-the-benefits-o

    A study comparing psychedelic enthusiasts and people from the general population (who also had psychedelic experiences) found that the enthusiasts tended to report much greater positive quality-of-life effects. The enthusiasts also showed higher openness, extraversion, and agreeableness. This indicates that recruitment strategies in psychedelic research that lean towards including enthusiasts may shape the outcomes obtained in those studies. The paper was published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.

    Psychedelic drugs are substances that can strongly alter perception, mood, thinking, and the sense of self. They may change how people experience colors, sounds, time, memories, emotions, and the meaning of events. Classic psychedelics include LSD, psilocybin from “magic mushrooms,” DMT, and mescaline. These substances mainly act on serotonin receptors in the brain.

    In research settings, psychedelics are being studied for possible therapeutic use in conditions such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Their effects depend heavily on dose, personality, expectations, mental state, physical setting, and social support. Psychedelics can also carry risks, including panic, confusion, dangerous behavior during intoxication, worsening of some psychiatric conditions, and legal consequences where they are prohibited.

    Study author Jonathan Bendz and his colleagues noted that many studies of psychedelic users report extraordinarily positive self-reported effects. However, they suggest that this might represent an exaggeration of the real effects caused by biased selection, or even self-selection, of study participants. The issue is that the effects of psychedelics can only be tested on individuals who agree to use them. These participants tend to be individuals who have already had especially positive experiences with psychedelic use.

    To examine this hypothesis, these researchers conducted a study comparing whether the self-reported quality-of-life impact of psychedelic experiences differed between a convenience sample of psychedelic enthusiasts and a group of people from the general population recruited via Prolific. They also wanted to see whether the difference between the two groups remained after controlling for mindset, setting, motivation to use psychedelic drugs, and personality traits.

    The enthusiast group consisted of 583 individuals recruited through an anonymous survey posted on the Facebook and Instagram pages of a Swedish nonprofit organization that disseminates information about psychedelic science (Nätverket för Psykedelisk Vetenskap). A snowball sampling approach was used to reach more participants. The general population group consisted of 599 individuals recruited via Prolific (an online survey platform). They were required to have prior psychedelic experience, but were not recruited from a specific psychedelic community.

    Study participants completed assessments of the quality-of-life impact of their psychedelic experiences (e.g., “How has your most meaningful psychedelic experience affected the quality of your relationship with… family, friends, yourself, society, and nature?”). They also answered questions regarding their mindset and physical setting during the experience (“To what extent did you experience your mindset/environment to be optimal?”), their motivation (“What was your motivation for using a psychedelic substance?”), and their personality (using the IPIP-NEO-30 assessment).

    Results showed that the psychedelic enthusiasts tended to report a much higher quality-of-life impact from their psychedelic experiences compared to the Prolific group. The enthusiast group also reported having a more optimal mindset and setting during their trips, and they were more likely to report taking the drugs for personal growth rather than for fun. Finally, the enthusiasts tended to be more open to new experiences, extraverted, and agreeable than the participants from the Prolific group.

    Even after using a statistical model to account for these differences in personality, mindset, setting, and motivation, simply belonging to the enthusiast group remained the strongest predictor of reporting a high quality-of-life impact.

    “As expected, participants recruited from an enthusiast-leaning channel reported considerably greater benefits [of psychedelic use] than those recruited from a general-population platform. Even after controlling for mindset, setting, motivation, and personality, sample membership remained the strongest predictor of quality-of-life impact,” the study authors concluded.

    “The persistent effect of sample membership suggests that the two groups differ in additional ways not captured by our measures, for example in cultural expectations, social context, or demographic composition, shaping reported outcomes. These results underscore the need for caution when interpreting findings from psychedelic studies that rely on highly engaged user populations.”

    The study sheds light on important methodological issues that studies of psychedelic effects face. However, the authors note some limitations. For example, the two groups had demographic differences; the general sample was overwhelmingly from the United States, while the enthusiast sample lacked country-of-residence data for most participants (though a portion resided in Sweden). This introduces the possibility of cross-cultural differences influencing the results.

    Additionally, it should be noted that the Prolific sample likely included many psychedelic enthusiasts as well. Because of this, the difference between the two groups in this study likely underestimates the true difference between the general population and psychedelic enthusiasts.

    The paper, “Selection Bias in Psychedelic Research: Comparing Self-Reported Quality-Of-Life Impact Between Enthusiasts and a General Population Sample,” was authored by Jonathan Bendz, Linus Schäfer, David Sjöström, Sverker Sikström, and Petri Kajonius.

    URL: psypost.org/are-the-benefits-o

    -------------------------------------------------

    DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.

    Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: clinicians-exchange.org

    Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

    NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

    Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: nationalpsychologist.com

    EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: subscribe-article-digests.clin

    READ ONLINE: read-the-rss-mega-archive.clin

    It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

    -------------------------------------------------

    #psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #Psychedelics #SelectionBias #QualityOfLife #PsychedelicResearch #StudyBias #OpenMindedness #PersonalityTraits #MentalHealthResearch #TherapeuticPsychedelics #ScientificCaution

  3. DATE: May 12, 2026 at 10:00AM
    SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

    ** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
    -------------------------------------------------

    TITLE: Are the benefits of psychedelics exaggerated? A new study highlights the problem of selection bias

    URL: psypost.org/are-the-benefits-o

    A study comparing psychedelic enthusiasts and people from the general population (who also had psychedelic experiences) found that the enthusiasts tended to report much greater positive quality-of-life effects. The enthusiasts also showed higher openness, extraversion, and agreeableness. This indicates that recruitment strategies in psychedelic research that lean towards including enthusiasts may shape the outcomes obtained in those studies. The paper was published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.

    Psychedelic drugs are substances that can strongly alter perception, mood, thinking, and the sense of self. They may change how people experience colors, sounds, time, memories, emotions, and the meaning of events. Classic psychedelics include LSD, psilocybin from “magic mushrooms,” DMT, and mescaline. These substances mainly act on serotonin receptors in the brain.

    In research settings, psychedelics are being studied for possible therapeutic use in conditions such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Their effects depend heavily on dose, personality, expectations, mental state, physical setting, and social support. Psychedelics can also carry risks, including panic, confusion, dangerous behavior during intoxication, worsening of some psychiatric conditions, and legal consequences where they are prohibited.

    Study author Jonathan Bendz and his colleagues noted that many studies of psychedelic users report extraordinarily positive self-reported effects. However, they suggest that this might represent an exaggeration of the real effects caused by biased selection, or even self-selection, of study participants. The issue is that the effects of psychedelics can only be tested on individuals who agree to use them. These participants tend to be individuals who have already had especially positive experiences with psychedelic use.

    To examine this hypothesis, these researchers conducted a study comparing whether the self-reported quality-of-life impact of psychedelic experiences differed between a convenience sample of psychedelic enthusiasts and a group of people from the general population recruited via Prolific. They also wanted to see whether the difference between the two groups remained after controlling for mindset, setting, motivation to use psychedelic drugs, and personality traits.

    The enthusiast group consisted of 583 individuals recruited through an anonymous survey posted on the Facebook and Instagram pages of a Swedish nonprofit organization that disseminates information about psychedelic science (Nätverket för Psykedelisk Vetenskap). A snowball sampling approach was used to reach more participants. The general population group consisted of 599 individuals recruited via Prolific (an online survey platform). They were required to have prior psychedelic experience, but were not recruited from a specific psychedelic community.

    Study participants completed assessments of the quality-of-life impact of their psychedelic experiences (e.g., “How has your most meaningful psychedelic experience affected the quality of your relationship with… family, friends, yourself, society, and nature?”). They also answered questions regarding their mindset and physical setting during the experience (“To what extent did you experience your mindset/environment to be optimal?”), their motivation (“What was your motivation for using a psychedelic substance?”), and their personality (using the IPIP-NEO-30 assessment).

    Results showed that the psychedelic enthusiasts tended to report a much higher quality-of-life impact from their psychedelic experiences compared to the Prolific group. The enthusiast group also reported having a more optimal mindset and setting during their trips, and they were more likely to report taking the drugs for personal growth rather than for fun. Finally, the enthusiasts tended to be more open to new experiences, extraverted, and agreeable than the participants from the Prolific group.

    Even after using a statistical model to account for these differences in personality, mindset, setting, and motivation, simply belonging to the enthusiast group remained the strongest predictor of reporting a high quality-of-life impact.

    “As expected, participants recruited from an enthusiast-leaning channel reported considerably greater benefits [of psychedelic use] than those recruited from a general-population platform. Even after controlling for mindset, setting, motivation, and personality, sample membership remained the strongest predictor of quality-of-life impact,” the study authors concluded.

    “The persistent effect of sample membership suggests that the two groups differ in additional ways not captured by our measures, for example in cultural expectations, social context, or demographic composition, shaping reported outcomes. These results underscore the need for caution when interpreting findings from psychedelic studies that rely on highly engaged user populations.”

    The study sheds light on important methodological issues that studies of psychedelic effects face. However, the authors note some limitations. For example, the two groups had demographic differences; the general sample was overwhelmingly from the United States, while the enthusiast sample lacked country-of-residence data for most participants (though a portion resided in Sweden). This introduces the possibility of cross-cultural differences influencing the results.

    Additionally, it should be noted that the Prolific sample likely included many psychedelic enthusiasts as well. Because of this, the difference between the two groups in this study likely underestimates the true difference between the general population and psychedelic enthusiasts.

    The paper, “Selection Bias in Psychedelic Research: Comparing Self-Reported Quality-Of-Life Impact Between Enthusiasts and a General Population Sample,” was authored by Jonathan Bendz, Linus Schäfer, David Sjöström, Sverker Sikström, and Petri Kajonius.

    URL: psypost.org/are-the-benefits-o

    -------------------------------------------------

    DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.

    Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: clinicians-exchange.org

    Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

    NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

    Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: nationalpsychologist.com

    EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: subscribe-article-digests.clin

    READ ONLINE: read-the-rss-mega-archive.clin

    It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

    -------------------------------------------------

    #psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #Psychedelics #SelectionBias #QualityOfLife #PsychedelicResearch #StudyBias #OpenMindedness #PersonalityTraits #MentalHealthResearch #TherapeuticPsychedelics #ScientificCaution

  4. A quotation from Richard Feynman

    If we want to solve a problem that we have never solved before, we must leave the door to the unknown ajar.

    Richard Feynman (1918-1988) American physicist
    Speech (1955-11), “The Value of Science,” National Academy of Sciences Autumn Meeting, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

    More about this quote: wist.info/feynman-richard/8249…

    #quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #richardfeynman #newideas #openmindedness #problemsolving #science #solution #unknown

  5. A quotation from Richard Feynman

    If we want to solve a problem that we have never solved before, we must leave the door to the unknown ajar.

    Richard Feynman (1918-1988) American physicist
    Speech (1955-11), “The Value of Science,” National Academy of Sciences Autumn Meeting, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

    More about this quote: wist.info/feynman-richard/8249…

    #quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #richardfeynman #newideas #openmindedness #problemsolving #science #solution #unknown

  6. @samuelpepys

    "laughing and jeering at everything that looks strange"

    You are right to be upset, Sam. Bigotry and narrowmindedness are so annoying.

    And that is why I warm to you, Sam: the complete absence of such narrowness in your outlook on life; your unbounded curiosity; your childlike joy in experiencing new things. Bless you, Sam.

    #Pepys #curiosity #openmindedness

  7. Why does it have to be so difficult for everyone, who is slightly different? Why is it so difficult to be open-minded and to accept and support people? #acceptance #openmindedness

    bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/ar

  8. A Zen master said “We’ll see.” Boy gets a pony. Wonderful? Boy breaks his leg. Horrible? War breaks out. Horrible? Boy doesn’t go to war. Wonderful? We will see. #Trump #News #Chaos #Daily #Stress #Worry #Fear #Illness #Patience #Openmindedness #Mindfulness #Time youtube.com/shorts/5jScZ...

    A healthy way to handle the da...

  9. One and one is two - that’s business,
    One and one is four - that’s art - or if you like it better - is life.
    I think that makes clear; the many-fold seeing, the many-fold reading of the world,
    makes us broader, wider, richer.
    In education, a single standpoint cannot give a solid firm stand.
    Thus, let us have different viewpoints, different standpoints.
    Let us observe in different directions and from different angles…

    #JosefAlbers, 1938

    #Liberalism #OpenMindedness

    moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/

  10. In a world torn by division, mature thinking offers a path to unity. It's not about abandoning our beliefs, but about opening our minds while staying true to our core.

    Open to new thoughts
    Rooted in timeless values
    Wisdom blossoms here

    abeautifulmess.substack.com/p/

    #MatureThinking #CriticalThinking #EmotionalIntelligence #Empathy #OpenMindedness #PersonalGrowth #SocialHarmony #LifelongLearning #IntellectualHumility #ABeautifulMess #Maturity #Listening #Values

  11. In a world torn by division, mature thinking offers a path to unity. It's not about abandoning our beliefs, but about opening our minds while staying true to our core.

    Open to new thoughts
    Rooted in timeless values
    Wisdom blossoms here

    abeautifulmess.substack.com/p/

    #MatureThinking #CriticalThinking #EmotionalIntelligence #Empathy #OpenMindedness #PersonalGrowth #SocialHarmony #LifelongLearning #IntellectualHumility #ABeautifulMess #Maturity #Listening #Values

  12. In a world torn by division, mature thinking offers a path to unity. It's not about abandoning our beliefs, but about opening our minds while staying true to our core.

    Open to new thoughts
    Rooted in timeless values
    Wisdom blossoms here

    abeautifulmess.substack.com/p/

  13. In a world torn by division, mature thinking offers a path to unity. It's not about abandoning our beliefs, but about opening our minds while staying true to our core.

    Open to new thoughts
    Rooted in timeless values
    Wisdom blossoms here

    abeautifulmess.substack.com/p/

    #MatureThinking #CriticalThinking #EmotionalIntelligence #Empathy #OpenMindedness #PersonalGrowth #SocialHarmony #LifelongLearning #IntellectualHumility #ABeautifulMess #Maturity #Listening #Values

  14. Statements like 'never understand consciousness' seem bound by current knowledge limits. 🧠 #OpenMindedness #LimitlessPossibility Remember, once the quantum world & ocean depths were mysteries. Future knowledge & tech might unlock today's enigmas. #InfinitePossibilities 🌟

  15. Statements like 'never understand consciousness' seem bound by current knowledge limits. 🧠 #OpenMindedness #LimitlessPossibility Remember, once the quantum world & ocean depths were mysteries. Future knowledge & tech might unlock today's enigmas. #InfinitePossibilities 🌟

  16. Statements like 'never understand consciousness' seem bound by current knowledge limits. 🧠 #OpenMindedness #LimitlessPossibility Remember, once the quantum world & ocean depths were mysteries. Future knowledge & tech might unlock today's enigmas. #InfinitePossibilities 🌟

  17. 🌈 Spread love, embrace diversity, and celebrate sexual positivity! 🌟💖 Let's break free from societal norms and explore the endless possibilities of pleasure. 😈💦❤️ Join me on this journey of self-discovery and liberation! 🌈✨ #sexualpositivity #embracediversity #breakfree #pleasureseeker #endlessexploration #liberation #lovewins #openmindedness #AI

  18. 🌈 Spread love, embrace diversity, and celebrate sexual positivity! 🌟💖 Let's break free from societal norms and explore the endless possibilities of pleasure. 😈💦❤️ Join me on this journey of self-discovery and liberation! 🌈✨ #sexualpositivity #embracediversity #breakfree #pleasureseeker #endlessexploration #liberation #lovewins #openmindedness #AI

  19. 'Most people are not only comfortable in their ignorance, but hostile to anybody who points it out.'

    ― Plato

    #Ignorance #Defensiveness #Openmindedness #Quotes

  20. If #deliberativeDemocracy theory is right, then we should expect to find a certain amount of #openMindedness (or preferences for it) in politics.

    This dissertation (discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/) seems to argue that we don't find it, "call[ing] into question the central role open-mindedness plays in deliberative democratic #theory" and making space to "explore alternative justifications for democracy’s legitimacy."

    #politicalPsychology #decisionScience #poliSci #politicalPhilosophy #politicalTheory