Another World. What Psychedelics Can Tell Us About Consciousness, Death, Passions, Depression, and Transcendence

When Michael Pollan set out to explore the use of drugs in the treatment of depression, addiction, and anxiety, which are so difficult to overcome, he had no intention of creating what turned out to be his most personal book. But discovering that these substances can enhance the quality of life not only for the mentally ill but also for quite healthy people, barely restraining against the pressures of everyday life, he decided to map the topography of his own consciousness and wrote much from the first-person perspective. Thus began his journey through various altered states, during which he turns to the achievements of brain science. Pollan also worked extensively in the archives to separate the truth about psychedelics from the widespread myths that have dominated perceptions of them since the 1960s, when a negative attitude towards what had potential for science was lobbied. This unique combination of history, medicine, and science with biographical episodes presents a captivating description of personal experience, referring to a new frontier in our understanding of mind, personality, and place in the world. The true theme of Pollan's psychedelic travelogue is not only psychedelics but also the unresolved mystery of human consciousness—how in a world that confronts us with suffering and pleasures, we can find meaning in our lives.