Review
Pharmacy in History January 1, 2019 DOI: 10.26506/pharmhist.61.3-4.0174 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA collection of letters exchanged between Aldous Huxley and Humphry Osmond, documenting their intellectual and personal correspondence about psychedelics, consciousness, and the cultural and scientific implications of psychedelic substances in the mid-20th century. The letters reveal their evolving ideas, the coining of the term 'psychedelic,' and their efforts to navigate the social and medical reception of these drugs. The volume provides historical insight into the early psychedelic movement and the relationship between a writer and a psychiatrist.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Queen butterfly Humanities Art history |
| Key finding | Argues that the Huxley-Osmond correspondence provides essential insight into the origins of psychedelic research and the cultural and scientific debates surrounding psychedelic substances in the mid-20th century. |
Abstract
Cynthia Carson Bisbee, Paul Bisbee, Erika Dyck, Patrick Farrell, James Sexton, and James W. Spark, eds., Psychedelic Prophets: The Letters of Aldous Huxley and Humphry Osmond. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2018; 728 pp; 10 b&w images; ISBN: 9780773555068; cloth;