Darwin's Pharmacy by Richard M Doyle

Darwin's Pharmacy by Richard M Doyle

Are humans unwitting partners in evolution with psychedelic plants? Darwin’s Pharmacy shows they are by weaving the evolutionary theory of sexual selection and the study of rhetoric together with the science and literature of psychedelic drugs. Long suppressed as components of the human tool kit, psychedelic plants can be usefully modeled as “eloquence adjuncts” that intensify a crucial component of sexual selection in humans: discourse. Psychedelic plants seduce us to interact with them, building an ongoing interdependence: rhetoric as evolutionary mechanism. In doing so, they engage our awareness of the noosphere, or thinking stratum of the earth. The realization that the human organism is part of an interconnected ecosystem is an apprehension of immanence that could ultimately benefit the planet and its inhabitants. To explore the rhetoric of the psychedelic experience and its significance to evolution, Doyle takes his readers on an epic journey through the writings of William Burroughs and Kary Mullis, the work of ethnobotanists and anthropologists, and anonymous trip reports. The results offer surprising insights into evolutionary theory, the war on drugs, the internet, and the nature of human consciousness itself. Watch the book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xof-t2cAob4

". . offer[s] unique insights into the pleasures and desires that animate our relationships . . . The diverse source material Doyle uses serves as a model for the kind of commons he celebrates. He offers wonderfully attentive readings of trip reports from famous users . . ."

-- Jenna Supp-Montgomerie * Women's Studies Quarterly *

Richard M. Doyle is professor of English and science, technology, and society at Pennsylvania State University. He is the author of On Beyond Living and Wetwares

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780295990958
ISBN 10	0295990953
Title	Darwin's Pharmacy
Author	Richard M Doyle
Series	Darwin's Pharmacy
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	University of Washington Press
Year published	2011-10-01
Number of pages	336
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable