The making of a mushroom people: Toward a moral anthropology of psychedelics beyond hype and anti‐hype

Summary

The article discusses the potential shift in North American and European attitudes towards psychedelics as they gain regulatory approval, suggesting a move from repression to acceptance. It emphasizes the role of anthropology in understanding this 'psychedelic renaissance,' particularly how it can address the cycles of hype surrounding these substances. The author proposes that moral anthropology should study the ethical implications of mystical experiences induced by psychedelics and their impact on contemporary societies.

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Abstract

As regulatory agencies have put psychedelics on an expedited path to market approval, North Americans and Europeans might turn away from their repression and join the subset of cultures that have institutionalized the use of hallucinogenic drugs. What is the place of anthropology in this psychedelic renaissance? More specifically, how should anthropology relate to the cycles of hype and anti‐hype, which have been identified as a recurrent pattern in the careers of new drugs as psychedelics have entered a second round of cultural enthusiasm and critique? This article suggests extending ethnographic studies of the psychedelic renaissance from medical to moral anthropology. The case of psychedelics is especially interesting for moral anthropology because these drugs frequently induce mystical‐type experiences, which can play an ethically irritating role as mysticism challenges a strict moral order enforced through disciplinary practices. What cultural consequences would the spread of mystical experiences have for contemporary European and North American societies?

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