Beyond LSD: A Broader Psychedelic Zeitgeist during the Early to Mid-20thCentury
Jacob S. Aday, Emily K. Bloesch, Christopher C. Davoli
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs March 6, 2019 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2019.1581961 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mescaline Psilocybin LSD |
| Keywords | Zeitgeist Historiography Psychoanalytic theory Psychodynamics Period music Hallucinogen Humanism Psychoanalysis History of psychology Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 19 |
| Key points | Argues that the 1950s and 1960s psychedelic research boom was driven not only by LSD's discovery but also by prior research on other psychedelics and congruent psychological zeitgeists. |
Abstract
During the 1950s and 1960s, there was a tremendous surge in research into the effects of psychedelic drugs. When discussing this period of research, the discovery of the psychoactive properties of LSD in 1943 is often presented as the main, and sometimes only, driving force of the boom in research. This "Great Person," or "Great Chemical," historiographical lens fails to acknowledge other factors that were fundamental in setting the stage for the research. In particular, other psychedelic drugs, such as mescaline, were already being probed for their uses in psychotherapy and as models for psychosis before the effects of LSD had been discovered. Psilocybin and other classical psychedelics had also been discovered by Western researchers around the same time as the synthesis of LSD. Additionally, many of the dominant zeitgeists (e.g., pharmacological, psychoanalytic, and humanistic) in psychology during this period were congruent with psychedelic research. This article argues that while the discovery of LSD may have been a catalyst for psychedelic research in the 1950s and '60s, there was a broader psychedelic zeitgeist that deserves acknowledgement for setting the stage.