Then (1954), The Doors of Perception
Art as 'Ersatz Suchness': Huxley's Claim
Art is 'only for beginners', a preparation for direct experience, not a substitute for it. The best art points toward the kind of direct perception mescaline temporarily enables, but cannot itself deliver that perception.
contested
Aesthetic neuroscience has complicated Huxley's hierarchy. Studies of peak aesthetic experiences show they activate many of the same brain regions as psychedelic-induced states, particularly the default mode network and salience network in overlapping ways. The distinction between mediated aesthetic experience and direct perception may be less categorical than Huxley claimed. That said, qualitative studies of psychedelic experience consistently report a quality of perceptual immediacy that subjects describe as categorically different from aesthetic rapture. The debate remains open.
Sources
- Chatterjee & Vartanian, Trends Cogn Sci (2014)
- Barrett et al., Front. Psychol. (2017) [Source not found; under review]
- Huxley, The Doors of Perception (1954)