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Zeuzz
SynesthiAc
Registered: 10/05/09
Posts: 31
Last seen: 8 years, 10 months
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Informed critism of Mckenna's "stoned ape theory" wanted
#19201627 - 11/28/13 05:08 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Hey all,
I'm just a curious layman with an interest in science and have been researching into Mckenna theory about psychedelics plants in human prehistory acting as catalysts for all sorts of things that distinguish us from other apes, and how these substances have changed the direction of our evolution out of the slowly evolving hominid line. Basically a revisionist theory that places the ingestion of mind and sensory expanding plants in human history as the primary factor that made us evolve from ape to human, rather than a change in diet such as the eating or cooking of fish, as is usually assumed.
I have written theory as best I can, however I have limited knowledge of much mycology and biology so consider it scaffolding for a much richer article in future as I get feedback, I have added a good 40 scientific references to support the text so far.
Read it here: http://puttingtheeinjref.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/terence-mckennas-stoned-ape-theory-of.html
Am I missing a fatal flaw in the theory that would not make it work? I really can't seem to find one.
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johnm214


Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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Re: Informed critism of Mckenna's "stoned ape theory" wanted [Re: Zeuzz] 1
#19201637 - 11/28/13 05:12 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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1. No evidence for it.
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DirtyTomFlint
( ಥـْـِـِـِـْಥ)




Registered: 11/26/13
Posts: 1,879
Loc: United Kingdom
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
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Re: Informed critism of Mckenna's "stoned ape theory" wanted [Re: johnm214]
#19201642 - 11/28/13 05:14 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Taking into account I've only recently started getting into Terence McKenna's material, I found your article rather informative. Kudos to you, my friend. Wish I could help you.
Quote:
johnm214 said: 1. No evidence for it.
It's a theory. There's no evidence against it?
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   Know Your Body, Know Your Mind, Know Your Substance, Know Your Source
Edited by DirtyTomFlint (11/28/13 05:14 PM)
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johnm214


Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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Re: Informed critism of Mckenna's "stoned ape theory" wanted [Re: DirtyTomFlint] 1
#19201663 - 11/28/13 05:20 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
DatIslandLife said:
Quote:
johnm214 said: 1. No evidence for it.
It's a theory. There's no evidence against it?
Doesn't matter. A theory needs some evidence or its no theory at all.
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Zeuzz
SynesthiAc
Registered: 10/05/09
Posts: 31
Last seen: 8 years, 10 months
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Re: Informed critism of Mckenna's "stoned ape theory" wanted [Re: johnm214]
#19201783 - 11/28/13 05:54 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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What about the recent John Hopkins studies, showing long lasting positive effects, which could lead to epigenetic inheritance of behavioral traits.
So what does the evidence say about why our neocortex evolved so differently and so quickly (in evolutionary terms) than most other hominids?
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something cool
meandering

Registered: 01/30/12
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Re: Informed critism of Mckenna's "stoned ape theory" wanted [Re: Zeuzz] 1
#19202736 - 11/28/13 09:46 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Mckenna was a fanatic who saw everything as a tool to publicly praise drugs. If there's truth to any of his ideas, I personally wouldn't pause to even faintly consider it as long is it was presented as a claim of his.
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,691
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Re: Informed critism of Mckenna's "stoned ape theory" wanted [Re: Zeuzz]
#19203466 - 11/29/13 02:58 AM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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teknix
𓂀⟁𓅢𓍝𓅃𓊰𓉡 𓁼𓆗⨻



Registered: 09/16/08
Posts: 11,953
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Re: Informed critism of Mckenna's "stoned ape theory" wanted [Re: Zeuzz]
#19206614 - 11/29/13 09:49 PM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Yeah bro, the flaw is that we should be able to feed magic mushrooms to monkey's, apes, chimps, bonobo's and get the same results.
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Amphibolos
Le bourgeois gentilhomme




Registered: 05/22/09
Posts: 626
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Re: Informed critism of Mckenna's "stoned ape theory" wanted [Re: teknix]
#19211271 - 12/01/13 05:34 AM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
teknix said: Yeah bro, the flaw is that we should be able to feed magic mushrooms to monkey's, apes, chimps, bonobo's and get the same results.
No, because the monkeys dont have the same potential to evolution that our ancestrors had 10m to 5m years ago.
Therefore the experience couldnt be the same. So you what you pointed isnt the main flaw.
Do not forget that evolution doesnt necessary follow the same path twice, even if there are examples of evolution convergence (in some proteic systems for example)
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"Homo sum ; humani nihil a me alienum puto"
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Zeuzz
SynesthiAc
Registered: 10/05/09
Posts: 31
Last seen: 8 years, 10 months
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Re: Informed critism of Mckenna's "stoned ape theory" wanted [Re: Amphibolos]
#19215533 - 12/02/13 12:59 AM (10 years, 2 months ago) |
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Anyone got any informed criticism that directly addresses any of the points in the article?
-------------------- The only way to study consciousness is to perturb it; I don't know who first discovered water, but i'm pretty sure it wasn't a fish.
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