Date of Award

Spring 2018

Thesis Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Liberal Studies

Department

Interdisciplinary Studies

Advisor(s)

Suzanne Woodward

Second Advisor

Robert Smither

Abstract

The following research will outline the effects of psychedelics from an interdisciplinary approach, which is to say that I will explore the neuroscience behind psychedelic drugs and how it relates to creativity, as a primary focus, while examining the role of additional points included along the way. The goal of this research, is to gain a deeper understanding of psychedelics and truly decipher what it means to be under the influence, as the most important goal of this human existence is to achieve understanding. The aforementioned is a point that great minds like Albert Einstein and Humphry Osmond impressed on society before their death. It is a difficult and beautiful thing to observe the many differences, we humans feature. However, thinkers like Osmond and Einstein eloquently offered the ever-so-valuable point that understanding comes from the purposeful acknowledgment of our uniqueness as individuals and the potential for the role it plays. It is not in our similarities that we learn the best lessons but often our differences that spark the creative innovation housed in the human spirit. However, one must be cognitively flexible to do so. Aside from the academic purpose of this paper, a personal motivation for me to write about psychedelics stems from the fact that psilocybin (magic mushrooms), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), tetrahydrocannabinol (marijuana or cannabis), and other psychedelic substances are considered taboo to talk about. Education is essential when referencing illicit drugs, and the only way to understand the reality of the benefits and dangers is with education; by removing the fear surrounding the unknown.

Rights Holder

Jody Alise Roun

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