Editing Psychonautics (section)

==Works and notable figures==
{{see also|Psychedelic literature}}
{{multiple image |align=right|image1=Aldous Huxley.JPG|caption1=[[Aldous Huxley]] (1894–1963)|width1=125|image2=Timothy-Leary-Los-Angeles-1989.jpg|caption2=[[Timothy Leary]] (1920–1996)|width2=130||footer=Two iconic psychonautical researchers and advocates of the 20th century.}}
Works such as [[Confessions of an English Opium-Eater]] by [[Thomas De Quincey]], [[The Hasheesh Eater]] by [[Fitz Hugh Ludlow]], and ''On Hashish'' by [[Walter Benjamin]] have psychonautic elements insofar as they explore human and drug-induced experiences. They may be considered precursors to psychonautic literature, but they are not psychonautic works in their own right.

One of the best known psychonautic works is [[Aldous Huxley]]'s ''[[The Doors of Perception]]'', which recounts his experience after taking 400mg of mescaline.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.fastcodesign.com/1673120/see-the-contest-winning-cover-for-brave-new-world |title=See The Contest-Winning Cover For "Brave New World" |last1=Dunne |first1=Carey |newspaper=Co.design |date=30 July 2013 |access-date=25 May 2015 }}</ref><ref name="darwinspharmacy">{{cite book |last=Doyle |first=Richard M. |date=2011 |title=Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants, and the Evolution of the Noösphere |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-99095-8 }}</ref><ref name="invisiblelandscape">{{cite book |last=Carpenter |first=Dan |date=2006 |title=A Psychonaut's Guide to the Invisible Landscape: The Topography of the Psychedelic Experience |publisher=Park Street Press |isbn=978-1-59477-090-6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jan/26/doors-perception-huxley-mescaline-reading-group |title=The Doors of Perception: What did Huxley see in mescaline? |last1=Jordison |first1=Sam |date=26 January 2012 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=25 May 2015 }}</ref> The American physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, philosopher, writer and inventor [[John C. Lilly]] was a well-known psychonaut. Lilly was interested in the nature of [[consciousness]] and, amongst other techniques, he used isolation tanks in his research.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lilly |first=John C. |year=1956 |title=Mental Effects of Reduction of Ordinary Levels of Physical Stimuli on Intact, Healthy Persons |volume=5 |pages=1–9 |work=Psychiatric Research Reports. |url=http://www.planetpuna.com/Lilly%20Papers/40.%20LILLY,%20JOHN%20C.%201956.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2023 |access-date=25 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528025010/http://www.planetpuna.com/Lilly%20Papers/40.%20LILLY,%20JOHN%20C.%201956.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

[[Ken Kesey]] is an author well-known for accounts of his experimentation with psychedelic drugs. [[Philosophical fiction|Philosophical-]] and [[Science fiction|Science]]-fiction author [[Philip K. Dick]] has also been described as a psychonaut for several of his works such as ''[[The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch]]''.<ref name="darwinspharmacy" />

Another influential figure is the psychologist and writer [[Timothy Leary]].<ref name="invisiblelandscape" /> Leary is known for controversial talks and research on the subject; he wrote several books including ''[[The Psychedelic Experience]]''. Another widely known name is that of American [[philosopher]], [[ethnobotanist]], lecturer, and author [[Terence McKenna]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Richards|first1=Chris|title=Sturgill Simpson: A country voice of, and out of, this world|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/sturgill-simpson-a-country-voice-of-and-out-of-this-world/2014/03/31/46277cce-b8f9-11e3-899e-bb708e3539dd_story.html|access-date=16 June 2015|date=31 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Harms|first1=Shane|title=Fall brings a change in the climate of consciousness|url=http://www.ballardnewstribune.com/2014/10/28/features/fall-brings-change-climate-consciousness|access-date=16 June 2015|date=28 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224051611/http://www.ballardnewstribune.com/2014/10/28/features/fall-brings-change-climate-consciousness|archive-date=24 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> McKenna spoke and wrote about subjects including psychedelic drugs, plant-based [[entheogens]], [[shamanism]], [[metaphysics]], [[alchemy]], [[language]], culture, technology, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness.

Among the most influential figures are undoubtedly [[Alexander Shulgin]] and [[Ann Shulgin]] who together authored [[PiHKAL]] and [[TiHKAL]], a pair of books which contain fictionalized autobiographies and detailed notes on over 230 psychoactive compounds. Some present-day psychonauts refer to themselves as "Shulginists" to denote a belief in the principles they identify in Shulgins' work.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Doc |first1=Zee |date=14 April 2018 |title=What is a Shulginist? |url=https://www.drzee.org/post/2018/04/14/what-is-a-shulginist |access-date=29 October 2022 |website=Doc Zee |language=en}}</ref>