Sacred Knowledge

Psychedelics and Religious Experiences
Erscheinungsjahr 2015
ISBN: 978-0-231-17406-0
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 280 Seiten, Format (B × H): 159 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 526 g

In the early 1960s, scientists openly advocated for experimentation with psychedelics. This effort, however, quickly turned into a discredited enterprise involving recreational drug use. But what if a study of psychedelics was undertaken with trusted scientific rigor? William A. Richards does just that in Sacred Knowledge, the first well-documented, sophisticated account of the effect of psychedelics on biological processes, human consciousness, and revelatory religious experiences. Richards argues that, if used responsibly and legally, psychedelics have incredible potential to assuage human suffering and constructively contribute to the quality of life on our planet. His work is based on nearly three decades of legal research with volunteers aged twenty-four to eighty-one.

Sacred Knowledge enriches humanities and scientific scholarship, expanding work in philosophy, anthropology, theology, and religious studies, as well as in mental health, psychotherapy, and psychopharmacology. Richards's analysis also contributes to social and political debates over the responsible integration of psychedelic substances into modern society. His book is an invaluable resource for readers who, whether spontaneously or with the facilitation of psychedelics, have encountered meaningful, inspiring, or even disturbing states of consciousness and seek clarity about their experiences. Testing the limits of language and conceptual frameworks, Richards makes the most of experiential phenomena that stretch our concepts of reality and advances new frontiers in the study of belief, spiritual awakening, psychiatric treatment, and social well-being.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Richards, William

Fachgebiete

• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Medizinische Fachgebiete Psychiatrie, Sozialpsychiatrie, Suchttherapie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionssoziologie und -psychologie, Spiritualität, Mystik
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologische Disziplinen Religionspsychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Bewusstseinszustände
• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Medizinische Fachgebiete Neuropharmakologie, Psychopharmakologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword, by G. William BarnardPreface: One Discovery of TranscendenceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionNote to the ReaderPart I. Setting the Stage1. The Death and Rebirth of Psychedelic Research2. Orientation, Definitions, and the Limits of Language3. Revelation and DoubtPart II. Mystical and Visionary Forms of Consciousness4. Intuitive Knowledge5. Approaches to Unitive Consciousness6. New Perspectives on Time and Space7. Visions and ArchetypesPart III. Personal and Interpersonal Dynamics8. The Interpersonal and the Mystical9. Experiences of Meaninglessness, Despair, and Somatic Discomfort10. Religious Conversion and Psychodynamic Experiences11. Discipline and Integration12. Reflections on DeathPart IV. Present and Future Applications of Entheogens13. Psychedelic Frontiers in Medicine14. Psychedelic Frontiers in Education15. Psychedelic Frontiers in Religion16. Maximizing the Probability of Safety and BenefitPart V. Onward17. Fears of Awakening18. Entering Into a New Paradigm19. Movement Into the FutureEpilogue: A Concise Report of Insights from the Frontier Where Science and Spirituality Are MeetingSelected BibliographyA Hopkins Playlist for Psilocybin Studies (2008 Version)Name IndexSubject Index

Über Autor(innen)

William A. Richards is a clinical psychologist with formal training in theology and comparative religion at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Earlier in his career, he pursued psychedelic research at the Spring Grove Hospital and Maryland Psychiatric Research Center in Baltimore. His graduate education included studies at Yale University, Brandeis University, Catholic University, the Andover-Newton Theological School, and the University of Göttingen.