The noetic connection: synaesthesia, psychedelics, and language
Digital Creativity 2005 DOI: 10.1080/14626260500173146 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Magic telescope Experiential learning Ethnography Aesthetics Linguistics Phenomenology philosophy Cognitive science Epistemology Anthropology Mathematics education |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key points | Argues that synaesthesias, psychedelic experience, and language are interrelated, and that the Synestheater system enables complex live performances integrating multiple sensory and linguistic mappings. |
Abstract
Abstract The literatures that touch on synaesthesias-scientific, art-historical, literary, phenomenological, ethnographic, psychodelic-vary widely in their definitions, their interpretations, and their degree of comfort with the first-person, subjective nature of experiential reports. The significances given to synaesthetic experiences are similarly wide-ranging. This paper explores the relationships among synaesthesias, psychedelic experience, and language, highlighting Terence McKenna's synaesthetic language experiences on DMT and magic mushrooms. We describe the complexities of creating and performing with the Synestheater, a system that provides the means to weave together, in multiple mappings, two or more complex visual, aural, and linguistic systems in live performance.