The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience

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Oxford University Press, 2002 - 475
This is a pioneering cognitive psychological study of Ayahuasca, a plant-based Amazonian psychotropic brew. Benny Shanon presents a comprehensive charting of the various facets of the special state of mind induced by Ayahuasca, and analyzes them from a cognitive psychological perspective. He also presents some philosophical reflections. Empirically, the research presented in this book is based on the systematic recording of the author's extensive experiences with the brew and on the interviewing of a large number of informants: indigenous people, shamans, members of different religious sects using Ayahuasca, and travellers. In addition to its being the most thorough study of the Ayahuasca experience to date, the book lays the theoretical foundations for the psychological study of non-ordinary states of consciousness in general.

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Spis treści

Prologue
1
Preliminaries
11
General Background
13
Theoretical Foundations
30
Methodology and General Structure
41
The Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience
53
Atmosphere and General Effects
55
OpenEye Visualizations
69
Time
226
Meaning and Semantics
242
Consciousness II
256
Light
273
Theoretical Issues
285
Stages and Order
287
Contextual Considerations
305
Cognitive Parameters
331

A Structural Typology of Ayahuasca Visualizations
86
Interaction and Narration
99
The Contents of Visions
113
The Themes of Visions
141
Ideas Insights and Reflections
160
NonVisual Perceptions
181
Consciousness I
194
Transformations
210
Dynamics
344
A General Theoretical Perspective
361
Concluding Philosophical Reflections
386
Epilogue
405
Quantitative Data
409
References
435
Index
453
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Informacje o autorze (2002)

Benny Shanon is a Professor of Psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and holder of the Mandel Chair in Cognition.

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