Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) was the author of nearly fifty books and numerous essays, best known for his dystopian novel Brave New World. Humphry Osmond (1917-2004) was a British-trained psychiatrist interested in the biological nature of mental illness and the potential for psychedelic drugs to treat psychoses, especially schizophrenia. In 1953, Huxley sent an appreciative note to Osmond about an article he and a colleague had published on their experiments with mescaline, which inspired an initial meeting and decade-long correspondence. This critical edition provides the complete Huxley-Osmond correspondence, chronicling an exchange between two brilliant thinkers who explored such subjects as psychedelics, the visionary experience, the nature of mind, human potentialities, schizophrenia, death and dying, Indigenous rituals and consciousness, socialism, capitalism, totalitarianism, power and authority, and human evolution. There are references to mutual friends, colleagues, and eminent figures of the day, as well as details about both men's personal lives. The letters bear witness to the development of mind-altering drugs aimed at discovering the mechanisms of mental illness and eventually its treatment. A detailed introduction situates the letters in their historical, social, and literary context, explores how Huxley and Osmond first coined the term psychedelic, contextualizes their work in mid-century psychiatry, and reflects on their legacy as contributors to the science of mind-altering substances. Psychedelic Prophets is an extraordinary record of a full correspondence between two leading minds and a testment to friendship, intellectualism, empathy, and tolerance. The fact that these sentiments emerge so clearly from the letters, at a historical moment best known for polarizing ideological conflict, threats of nuclear war, and the rise of post-modernism, reveals much about the personalities of the authors and the persistence of these themes in the modern world.--$cProvided by publisher.
Authors
Cynthia Carson Bisbee, Paul Bisbee, Erika Dyck, James Sexton Patrick Farrell
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Date published
- 2018.
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 823/.912
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- e-uk---
- ISBN
- 9780773556027 9780773555068
- LCCN
- PR6015.U9
- LCCN Item number
- Z48 2018eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (lxxxix, 644 pages)
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)kck00239343 (OCoLC)1059577203 (CaOOCEL)455635
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- PSYCHEDELIC PROPHETS 2
- Title 6
- Copyright 7
- Contents 8
- Preface 10
- Acknowledgments 14
- Illustrations 16
- Introduction 26
- Editors’ Note 78
- 1953 84
- 1954 139
- 1955 229
- 1956 325
- 1957 396
- 1958 438
- 1959 490
- 1960 519
- 1961 550
- 1962 579
- 1963 599
- Epilogue 618
- Note on the Appendices 628
- Appendix 1: Letters between Humphry Osmond and Maria Huxley, 1953–1955 630
- Appendix 2: LSD Experience of 7 November 1956: Letters between Humphry Osmond and Matthew, Ellen, and Francis Huxley 636
- Appendix 3: Aldous Huxley’s Account of Maria Huxley’s Last Days, ca. 15 February 1955 693
- Appendix 4: Humphry Osmond’s Statement on Peyote, 5 November 1955 698
- Bibliography 702
- About the Editors 710
- Index 712
