The Doors of Perception is an autobiographical book written by Aldous Huxley. Published in 1954, it elaborates on his psychedelic experience under the influence of mescaline in May 1953. Huxley recalls the insights he experienced, ranging from the "purely aesthetic" to "sacramental vision",Huxley, Aldous (1954) The Doors of Perception, Chatto and Windus, p. 15 and reflects on their philosophical and psychological implications. In 1956, he published Heaven and Hell, another essay which elaborates these reflections further. The two works have since often been published together as one book; the titles of both come from William Blake's 1793 book The Marriage of Heaven and Hell."If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.” William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and HellAldous Huxley - The Doors of Perception.pdf (archive.org)
The Doors of Perception provoked strong reactions for its evaluation of psychedelic drugs as facilitators of mystical insight with great potential benefits for science, art, and religion. While many found the argument compelling, others including German writer Thomas Mann, Vedantic monk Swami Prabhavananda, Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, and Orientalist scholar Robert Charles Zaehner countered that the effects of mescaline are subjective and should not be conflated with objective religious mysticism. Huxley himself continued to take psychedelics for the rest of his life, and the alleged understanding he gained from them influenced his final novel Island, published in 1962.
Background William Blake William Blake (1757–1827), who inspired the book's title and writing style, was an influential English artist most notable for his paintings and poetry. The "doors of perception" was originally a metaphor written by Blake in his 1790 book, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. The metaphor was used to represent Blake's feelings about mankind's limited perception of the reality around them:
Mescaline
Mescaline is the principal active psychedelic agent of the peyote cactus, which has been used in Native American religious ceremonies for thousands of years.Lower Pecos and Coahuila peyote: new radiocarbon dates. Terry M, Steelman KL, Guilderson T, Dering P, Rowe MW. J Archaeological Science. 2006;33:1017–1021. A German pharmacologist, Arthur Heffter, isolated the alkaloids in the peyote cactus in 1897. These included mescaline, which he showed through a combination of animal and self-experiments was the compound responsible for the psychoactive properties of the plant. In 1919, Ernst Späth, an Austrian chemist, synthesised the drug.About Dr. Arthur Heffter Hefter Research Institute Site Although personal accounts of taking the cactus had been written by psychologists such as Weir Mitchell in the US and Havelock Ellis in the UK during the 1890s, the German-American Heinrich Klüver was the first to systematically study its psychological effects in a small book called Mescal: The 'Divine' Plant and Its Psychological Effects published in 1928. The book stated that the drug could be used to research the unconscious mind.
In the 1930s, American anthropologist Weston La Barre published The Peyote Cult, the first study of the ritual use of peyote as an entheogen drug amongst the Huichol people of western Mexico. La Barre noted that the Native American users of the cactus took it to obtain visions for prophecy, healing and inner strength.Powell, Simon G Mescaline, An Overview Most psychiatric research projects into the drug in the 1930s and early 1940s tended to look at the role of the drug in mimicking psychosis.Grob, Charles S. Psychiatric Research with Hallucinogens: What have we learned? | The Psychotomimetic Model Yearbook for Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness, Issue 3, 1994 In 1947 however, the US Navy undertook Project Chatter, which examined the potential for the drug as a truth revealing agent. In the early 1950s, when Huxley wrote his book, mescaline was still regarded as a research chemical rather than a drug and was listed in the Parke-Davis catalogue with no controls.Jay, Mike (2010) High Society: The Central Role of Mind-Altering Drugs in History, Science, and Culture p. 103 Park Street Press, Mescaline also played a paramount part in influencing the beat generation of poets and writers of the later 1940s to the early 1960s. Most notable in this regard were William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg, all of whom were respected contemporary beat artists of their generation. Theirs and many other contemporary artists' works were heavily influenced by over-the-counter forms of mescaline during this time, due to its potency and attainability.
Huxley had been interested in spiritual matters and had used alternative therapies for some time. In 1936 he told TS Eliot that he was starting to meditate,Letter to T.S. Eliot, 8 July 1936; Smith, Letters of Aldous Huxley, pp. 405–6 and he used other therapies too; the Alexander Technique and the Bates method of seeing had particular importance in guiding him through personal crises.Dunaway, David King, p. 133 In the late 1930s he had become interested in the spiritual teaching of Vedanta and in 1945 he published The Perennial Philosophy, which set out a philosophy that he believed was found amongst mystics of all religions. He had known for some time of visionary experience achieved by taking drugs in certain religions.
Research by Humphry Osmond
Huxley had first heard of peyote use in ceremonies of the Native American Church in New Mexico, soon after coming to the United States in 1937.Woodcock, George (1972) Dawn and the Darkest Hour: A study of Aldous Huxley, p. 274, Faber & Faber, He first became aware of the cactus's active ingredient, mescaline, after reading an academic paper written by Humphry Osmond, a British psychiatrist working at Weyburn Mental Hospital, Saskatchewan, in early 1952. Osmond's paper set out results from his research into schizophrenia, using mescaline that he had been undertaking with colleagues, doctors Abram Hoffer and John Smythies.Bedford, Sybille (1974) Aldous Huxley: A Biography, Volume Two: 1939–1963 p. 144, Chatto & Windus, In the epilogue to his novel The Devils of Loudun, published earlier that year, Huxley had written that drugs were "toxic short cuts to self-transcendence".Huxley, Aldous (1952), The Devils of Loudun, Chatto & Windus For the Canadian writer George Woodcock, Huxley had changed his opinion because mescaline was not addictive and appeared to be without unpleasant physical or mental side-effects. Further, he had found that hypnosis, autohypnosis and meditation had apparently failed to produce the results he wanted.Woodcock (1972) p. 275
Huxley's experience with mescaline
After reading Osmond's paper, Huxley sent him a letter on Thursday, 10 April 1952, expressing interest in the research and putting himself forward as an experimental subject. His letter explained his motivations as being rooted in an idea that the brain is a reducing valve that restricts consciousness, and hoping mescaline might help access a greater degree of awareness (an idea he later included in the book).Bedford (1974) p. 144 Reflecting on his stated motivations, Woodcock wrote that Huxley had realised that the ways to enlightenment were many, including prayer and meditation. He hoped drugs might also break down the barriers of the ego, and both draw him closer to spiritual enlightenment and satisfy his quest as a seeker of knowledge.Woodcock (1972) p. 274
In a second letter on Saturday, 19 April, Huxley invited Osmond to stay while he was visiting Los Angeles to attend the American Psychiatric Association convention.Bedford (1974) p. 142 He also wrote that he looked forward to the mescaline experience and reassured Osmond that his doctor did not object to his taking it. Huxley had invited his friend, the writer Gerald Heard, to participate in the experiment; although Heard was too busy this time, he did join him for a session in November of that year.Murray, Nicholas (2003) Aldous Huxley, p. 399, Abacus
Day of the experiment
Osmond arrived at Huxley's house in West Hollywood on Sunday, 3 May 1953, and recorded his impressions of the famous author as a tolerant and kind man, although he had expected otherwise. The psychiatrist had misgivings about giving the drug to Huxley, and wrote, "I did not relish the possibility, however remote, of being the man who drove Aldous Huxley mad," but instead found him an ideal subject. Huxley was "shrewd, matter-of-fact and to the point" and his wife Maria "eminently sensible".Bedford(1974) p. 145 Overall, they all liked each other, which was very important when administering the drug. The mescaline was slow to take effect, but Osmond saw that after two and a half hours the drug was working and after three hours Huxley was responding well.Murray (2003) p. 399 The experience lasted eight hours and both Osmond and Maria remained with him throughout.Bedford (1974) p. 145
The experience started in Huxley's study before the party made a seven block trip to The Owl Drug (Rexall) store, known as World's Biggest Drugstore, at the corner of Beverly and La Cienega Boulevards. Huxley was particularly fond of the shop and the large variety of products available there (in stark contrast to the much smaller selection in English chemist's shops). There he considered a variety of paintings in art books. For one of his friends, Huxley's poor eyesight manifested in both a great desire to see and a strong interest in painting, which influenced the strong visual and artistic nature of his experience.Peggy Kiskadden in Dunaway, David King (1998) Aldous Huxley recollected: an oral history, p. 97 Rowman Altamira
After returning home to listen to music, eat, and walk in the garden, a friend drove the threesome to the hills overlooking the city. Photographs show Huxley standing, alternately arms on hips and outstretched with a grin on his face. Finally, they returned home and to ordinary consciousness.Dunaway, David King (1989), pp. 228–300 One of Huxley's friends who met him on the day said that despite writing about wearing flannel trousers, he was actually wearing blue jeans. Huxley admitted to having changed the fabric as Maria thought he should be better dressed for his readers.Bedford (1974) p. 163 Osmond later said he had a photo of the day that showed Huxley wearing flannels.Murray (2003) p. 401
Compilation of the book
After Osmond's departure, Huxley and Maria left to go on a three-week, car trip around the national parks of the North West of the US. After returning to Los Angeles, he took a month to write the book.Bedford (1974) p. 146 The Doors of Perception was the first book Huxley dedicated to his wife Maria.Murray (2003) p. 400 Harold Raymond, at his publisher Chatto and Windus, said of the manuscript, "You are the most articulate guinea pig that any scientist could hope to engage." The title was taken from William Blake's poem The Marriage of Heaven and Hell:
If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is: Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.Blake, William (1790) The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Plate 14