Philosophy in the Community

Philosophy in the Community
A free lecture and discussion series

Is the Psychedelic Renaissance More Than a Flashback?
by Erika Dyck, Department of History and Canada Research Chair in the History of Medicine

Friday, Jan. 12
7:00 pm
The Refinery (basement of Emmanuel Anglican Church, 609 Dufferin Ave.)

In this presentation Dyck will explore the history of LSD and psychedelic drugs and consider whether the claims about their therapeutic benefits are likely to gain traction in the 21st century. Psychedelics gained a reputation among scientists in the 1950s and 1960s for raising consciousness, providing insight, and offering therapeutic relief in ways that defied contemporary measurements. Indeed, psychedelics were described as changing ontology, not simply psychology or physiology; claims that were difficult to verify using a randomized controlled trial methodology. But, if past generations were unwilling to endorse a psychoactive substance that caused us to think differently about ourselves, and perhaps our outlook on the world, what has changed now that might allow for their acceptance in today’s modern pharmacopeia?