William A. Richards

Sacred Knowledge

Psychedelics and Religious Experiences

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

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.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Columbia University Press
• Seitenzahl: 280
• Erscheinungstermin: 8. Dezember 2015
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 236mm x 159mm x 32mm
• Gewicht: 578g
• ISBN-13: 9780231174060
• ISBN-10: 0231174063
• Artikelnr.: 42740392

Autorenporträt

William A. Richards

Inhaltsangabe

Foreword, by G. William Barnard
Preface: One Discovery of Transcendence
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Note to the Reader
Part I. Setting the Stage
1. The Death and Rebirth of Psychedelic Research
2. Orientation, Definitions, and the Limits of Language
3. Revelation and Doubt
Part II. Mystical and Visionary Forms of Consciousness
4. Intuitive Knowledge
5. Approaches to Unitive Consciousness
6. New Perspectives on Time and Space
7. Visions and Archetypes
Part III. Personal and Interpersonal Dynamics
8. The Interpersonal and the Mystical
9. Experiences of Meaninglessness, Despair, and Somatic Discomfort
10. Religious Conversion and Psychodynamic Experiences
11. Discipline and Integration
12. Reflections on Death
Part IV. Present and Future Applications of Entheogens
13. Psychedelic Frontiers in Medicine
14. Psychedelic Frontiers in Education
15. Psychedelic Frontiers in Religion
16. Maximizing the Probability of Safety and Benefit
Part V. Onward
17. Fears of Awakening
18. Entering Into a New Paradigm
19. Movement Into the Future
Epilogue: A Concise Report of Insights from the Frontier Where Science and
Spirituality Are Meeting
Selected Bibliography
A Hopkins Playlist for Psilocybin Studies (2008 Version)
Name Index
Subject Index

Rezensionen

Richards' Sacred Knowledge is not a tome, but rather a concise work rich with personal stories, observations and insights into a compelling topic, long ignored and now garnering the attention it has long deserved. Charles S. Grob, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, UCLA School of Medicine