Aldous Huxley's Doors of Perception.
Addiction October 11, 2021 DOI: 10.1111/add.15713 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAldous Huxley's 1954 essay The Doors of Perception, describing his personal experience with mescaline, shaped popular views of psychedelic drugs and inspired many to try them. Huxley encouraged psychiatrist Humphry Osmond to coin the term 'psychedelic,' knew leading early psychedelic researchers, and advocated for using psychedelics to spiritually enlighten the intellectual elite. The article provides background on Huxley, the circumstances of his mescaline experience, and the essay's key messages, and discusses how Huxley's essay and advocacy influenced early psychedelic research.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Medicine Psychology |
| Key finding | Argues that Huxley's essay and advocacy significantly shaped early psychedelic research and popular understanding of psychedelic drugs. |
Abstract
Aldous Huxley's personal account of his experience taking mescaline in The Doors of Perception (1954) has influenced popular understandings of the effects of psychedelic drugs and encouraged many personal experiences with these drugs. Huxley encouraged the psychiatrist Humphry Osmond to coin the term 'psychedelic'. He knew many of the leading figures in early psychedelic research and advocated for the use of psychedelics to enlighten spiritually the intellectual elite. We provide background on who Huxley was, how his mescaline experience came about and the key messages of his essay. We also discuss the impact of Huxley's essay and advocacy on early psychedelic research.