This week we also talked about the effects of hallucinogenic drugs like LSD and cocaine. During the 60s drugs and experimentation were very widely accepted. Today, we view it in a much more negative light and it is widely believed that alternate methods should be used to find relief from pain or whatever is driving someone to drugs. Works like A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley show the fascination with these mind-altering substances and escaping reality. While many of the dangers of these substances are very real, like their addictive quality, it is interesting to think about using them for purely artistic purposes. However, that also raises a question of "ethics" so to speak, and there is an argument to be made for creating art with only the talent of the unaltered conscious mind.
Vesna, Victoria. "Unit 7." DESMA 9. United States, Los Angeles. 14 May 2015. Lecture
"Freud's Book, "The Interpretation of Dreams" Released 1900." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 May 2015
Bateson, Greggory. "MIND AND NATURE." Oikos. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015.
Roberts, Jeff. "The Truth About LSD: Research Reveals Many Therapeutic and Medicinal Benefits." CollectiveEvolution RSS. 8 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 May 2015.
Hi Madeleine,
ReplyDeleteI loved that you talked about dreams and you had such an appropriate image for the topic. I thought it fit very well together. Dreams have always been interesting to me as well. When I was in high school I had a friend who had a book that supposedly interpreted dreams. We would look through it with such fascination because of the breadth of topics and their potential meanings. Another interesting aspect of dreaming is that some people can control their dreams. This is called lucid dreaming. I’m not very familiar with this topic, but it seems that many people are capable of doing it and it is not just about controlling your dream, but people can do things in lucid dreams that they wouldn’t be able to do in reality (Brogaard). I wonder if people who lucid dream can go in and out of lucid dreams and “normal” dreams.
I also thought you brought up something thought provoking about hallucinogenic drugs and using them to purely create art and how “ethics” may come into play here. I’m sure there are probably people who care if the artist takes or took drugs, but I personally don’t think that ethics should be an issue here, because people are on drugs all the time and when they write songs and there has not been a huge ethics debate regarding this type of art, so why would there be with others? Do you think that musicians and song writers should not take drugs while doing their work because of ethical reasons? I think however an artist chooses to express themselves should be allowed because if not we are confining progress in art and we are doing the same for science and culture in general. I do not enjoy all of the art I’ve had the privilege to experience, but I appreciate it because someone took the time to make an experience for themselves and for others to provoke thought and emotions.
Works Cited:
Brogaard, Berit. "Lucid Dreaming and Self-Realization." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 4 Dec. 2012. Web. 18 May 2015. .