Science of Ayahuasca by Jeremy Narby PhD at Alps Conference 2021

The presentation is from Jeremy Narby, a Swiss-Canadian anthropologist; PhD at University of Stanford

The full title of this talk is "Psychedelic science and the knowledge of indigenous Amazonian people: a true science of ayahuasca calls for a new kind of research".

Jeremy Narby has written many books including The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge (1995). More info on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_...

Abstract:
Scientists and researchers have recently become interested in the therapeutic potential of the Amazonian plant brew ayahuasca. But administering this powerful hallucinogenic cocktail requires considerable know-how and finesse. Indigenous Amazonian people have long used the brew and therefore have expertise in the matter. In their view, ayahuasca works first and foremost as a purge; and the brew’s efficacy depends on icaros (curative songs), which have healing power, and on dietas (preparatory diets), which consist in refraining from certain foods and behaviors, and which can fine-tune a person’s capacity to benefit from the brew. A true science of ayahuasca calls for a new kind of research – one that opens up to another way of knowing, and draws out its consequences, without seeking to prove it or disprove it; one that questions its own presuppositions.

Video was recorded during the Alps Conference 2021 on psychedelic research in Lausanne, Switzerland on 29.10.2021.