Journal of Creative Behavior

Breakdown or Breakthrough? A History of European Research into Drugs and Creativity

The paper brings neglected European studies (1940s–70s) on mescalin, psilocybin and LSD to Anglophone attention and shows that differing labels (hallucinogens, psychotogenics, psychedelics) shaped researchers' aims and interpretations. It rejects simplistic notions of drugs as either dictating or liberating creativity, stresses the importance of set and setting, and argues that artists' intentional use of intoxicants more plausibly operates as a disinhibiting technique or "gaucherie" than as a reliable route to breakthroughs.

Published

December 22, 2011

Journal

Journal of Creative Behavior

Authors

ten Berge, J. T.