1. The Anthropology of Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion
On Consciousness
(“Normal” and “Altered”)

2. Conscious
First use in the early 1600s; derived from Latin conscius
com- “with” + scire “to know”
Thus: “knowing with others, participating in knowledge, aware of”
Consciousness: the ability to know about – and consequently to act within – the world.

3. “knowing with others, participating in knowledge, aware of”
This is not as straightforward as it might seem…
Can I be certain that what I know is what you know?
Can I really “participate” in your knowledge?
What does it mean to be “aware”?

4. How can I know what is going on inside of someone else’s head?
(assuming anything is going on at all?)

5. One Answer - Ban Consciousness as a Topic of Study
Burrhus Fredric Skinner
John B. Watson
The “fathers” of behaviorism

6. The Behaviorist Answer
black box
Stimulus
Response
But what is going on inside the cat’s head?
that is…
Why does it respond the way it does?

7. A range of answers… Solipsism Panpsychism
all matter has some form of consciousness
one’s own mind is all that exists

8. But things change (as they always do…)
Albert Hofmann
Holding a model of the LSD molecule
Allen Ginsburg dancing at the Human Be-In, 1967
and “consciousness” has made a come-back

9. Waking States of Consciousness
Enable an organism to function within the world
Primarily outward directed
Survival-oriented
(identifying food, enemies, mates, etc.)

10. For us…
Consciousness involves the ability to know about – and consequently to act within – the world.
Involves “self-awareness”
found in
humans
chimps
gorillas
i.e., of the self as being distinct from the rest of the universe

11. The “Mirror Test”

12. A Measure of Self-Awareness
“passed” by:
great apes
Bonobos
Chimpanzees
Orangutans
Gorillas
Bottlenose Dolphins
Orcas
Elephants
European Magpies
Pigs
Humans (after app. 18 months)
Don’t worry, they’re just friends…

13. Consciousness Is made possible by biological processes that are
open to manipulation
culturally defined
Therefore, “normal consciousness” will differ from society to society

14. Mind is a “high level” function of the brain that
Enables self-awareness
Allows the individual to conceptualize her or his place in the world
Makes it possible to learn, generate, and apply “high level” models of the world

15. Models are Learned Via Observation Experience
Language (at least in humans)

16. Learned Models Hypotheses about the world
verified or falsified through sensory and motor activity
Unique to individual (non-isomorphic)
Limited in scope and applicability (tenuous)

17. Sensory Input We learn how to refer to things (through language)
We learn what things in the world are (culturally) significant
We learn how to act upon the world

18. Motor Output Is how we act within and upon the world
Is how we verify the “correctness” of our consensual models of the world

19. Normal “States” of Consciousness
Waking Mode (the “baseline”)
Deep Sleep
REM (Dream) Sleep

20. Altered States of
Consciousness

21. Altered “States” of Consciousness aka
Mystical
Transcendental
Transpersonal
Integrative

22. ASCs Can be induced at several “levels” Body/Brain functioning
Mental Activity
External agents

23. How to Induce ASCs Sensory Activity deprivation overload
Mental Activity
focused relaxed

24. Inducing ASCs Reduce sensory input and/or motor output
Increase sensory input and/or motor output and/or emotion
Increase mental alertness or involvement
Decrease mental alertness and/or relax critical faculties
Change body chemistry and/or neurophysiological functioning

25. The Continuum of Consciousness States (Roland Fischer)

26. In an “Altered State”
A person may be unable to determine whether their experiences relate to events outside the body/brain
Learned models about the external world are detached from the possibility of verification

27. In an “Altered State”
Conflicting models (“mental tectonic plates”) may result in “seismic” events
Depending upon context and cultural values, these events may be interpreted as
Positive
Neutral
Negative

28. Cultures and ASCs
Each culture defines which ASCs are allowed and which are not
Every culture fails to recognize most of the ASCs that humans can experience
ASCs – and therewith the dimensions of human experience – and shaped by culture

29. Cultures and “Drugs”
Ritualized drug use – culturally explained, tend to be integrative
Proscribed drug use – individually shaped, may be dis/integrative (both to the individual and the culture)

30. Balche’ Ritual of the Lacandon Maya
Made from a tree (Lonchocarpus violaceus) that is allow to ferment
Active components: alcohol, longistylines
Rite of Intensification (collective use)

31. Peyote Use among the Huichol
Peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii) contains mescaline and numerous other alkaloids
Used as an all purpose medicine and for ritual purposes

32. Datura Use among the Chumash
Datura wrightii contains numerous tropane alkaloids (atropine, scopolamine)
Used in initiations, to acquire spirit helpers

33. Hoasca/Ayahuasca
Psychotria viridis
Banisteriopsis caapi

34. Caapi contains β-carbolines Chacruna contains Dimethyltryptamines
Sedative
Hypnotic
MAO-inhibiting
Chacruna contains
Dimethyltryptamines
Visionary

35. Ayahuasca Use for millennia in Amazon Basin and neighboring regions
May be the most commonly used hallucinogenic preparation in the world

36. Ayahuasca Churches Santo Daime
Founded in 1920s by Raimundo Irineu Serra
Combines Christian
with indigenous & Mestizo religious elements

37. Ayahuasca Churches União de Vegetal
Founded in 1961 by Jose Gabriel da Costa (Mestre Gabriel)
UDV Church has U.S. presence

38. Ayahuasca Tourism

39. What can we say about Consciousness?
It is dynamic
It is different for each of us
All cultures control the consciousness of their members
Your consciousness is your most personal attribute