Utopiates—The Use and Users of LSD 25.
Archives of Internal Medicine – November 01, 1965
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
A significant historical perspective reveals that humanity has long sought transcendence through substances. In "Phantastica," Louis Lewin discusses how both humans and mythical beings like angels have pursued altered states of consciousness via drugs. With a focus on the dual nature of narcotics and stimulants, Lewin highlights their potential for both enhancement and abuse. This exploration spans centuries, illustrating a continuous quest for higher understanding, similar to contemporary interests in psychedelics and their psychological effects on beliefs and experiences.
Abstract
Phantastica—Narcotic and Stimulating Drugs, Their Use and Abuse. By Louis Lewin, MD. Price, 30 s. Pp 335, with no illustrations. Routledge & Kegan Paul, Ltd., 68-74 Carter Lane, London E.C.4, England, 1964. It seems that from earliest times man as well as angels has sought to surpass himself. Man's attempt has been by drugs or selfinduced transcendence. The angel of the first hierarchy, of the first order of that hierarchy, who attempted to transcend himself was named Lucifer. It was Tertullian, believe, who referred to Lucifer as the wisest of all angels. Origen, a father and founder of the Greek Orthodox Church, says that Lucifer, in attempting to surpass his intelligence and his grasp by vowing, I will be like unto the Most High, fell with a profound fall for his apostasy. And long after, in the 14th century, Duns Scotus was the protagonist of the opinion that Lucifer—by