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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)

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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.

Comparable studies

Other theoretical and historical papers on LSD, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The Experimental Use of Psychedelic (LSD) Psychotherapy 1970 Historical analysis
LSD: My Problem Child 1981 Historical analysis
On the Use and Abuse of LSD 1968 Theoretical or philosophical paper
The Use of Music in Psychedelic (LSD) Psychotherapy 1972 Theoretical or philosophical paper
Flashbacks: Recurrent Intrusive Images After the Use of LSD 1969 Theoretical or philosophical paper

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Mescaline Psilocybin LSD