Summary of Terence McKenna - Linguistic Hallucinations

00:00:00 - 00:55:00

Terence McKenna discusses the idea that reality is not necessarily what it seems, and that language is the primary source of our understanding of reality. He argues that, as a culture, we need to get down to the bedrock of reality – which appears to be words – and build back up from there.

• 00:00:00 Terence McKenna discusses the idea that reality is not reality, and that language is the primary source of our understanding of reality. He argues that, as a culture, we need to get down to the bedrock of reality – which appears to be words – and build back up from there. He also discusses the deconstructionist method of philosophy, and how it can be used to create a more enjoyable reality.
• 00:05:00 Terence McKenna discusses the linguistic dilemma, which is the problem of how to deal with the ever-changing, ever-present, and often frightening cultural realities. He argues that culture is a kind of environment that we have learned to interpose between ourselves and reality, and that the ego is an invention that we created to cope with this fear.
• 00:10:00 Terence McKenna discusses the concept of linguistic hallucinations, which he sees as an evolutionary adaptation that has allowed humans to escape the control of nature. He believes that history has a happy ending, and that the monkey species would not have been able to evade the mechanisms of control and constraint that guide and direct organic evolution.
• 00:15:00 Terence McKenna discusses the idea that nature may have a viewpoint in eternity and that, as a species, we have a destiny to save the planet.
• 00:20:00 Terence McKenna discusses the fact that human beings have faced numerous crises throughout the history of the earth, and how each has led to the evolution of new species. He goes on to say that we are now in a unique position to solve the biggest problem humanity has ever faced, and that we must be willing to take on the challenges of reality on multiple levels in order to do so.
• 00:25:00 Terence McKenna discusses how scientific research is often repeated in order to verify its validity. He goes on to say that in order to achieve true reality, one must be in a state of artistic creation.
• 00:30:00 Terence McKenna discusses the problem with science, which is that it relies on assumptions that are difficult to verify. He argues that science cannot explain phenomena such as love, care, and disappointment, which are common in human life. He also argues that science has to define certain phenomena in order to understand them, something that it has difficulty doing due to the complexity of these phenomena.
• 00:35:00 In this video, Terence McKenna discusses secondary qualities, which he calls "pseudosciences." He argues that science has to denigrate these qualities in order to do its work properly. McKenna believes that we are the victims of this process, and that our intuitive understanding of important aspects of reality is lost due to this distancing.
• 00:40:00 In this video, Terence McKenna discusses the concept of linguistic hallucinations, which are experiences that appear to be real but are actually based on assumptions and concepts that are not proven. He argues that reality should be abandoned as soon as possible in favor of a more spiritual viewpoint.
• 00:45:00 Terence McKenna discusses the idea that there is something in the human mind that causes us to gravitate towards a platonic point of view, but he also notes that modern thinking is a modified form of platonism that is more problem-fraught. He argues that the idea of an eternal archetype does not require a universe or matter, but that it is more likely that these objects exist at the end of time. He also suggests that the concept of a telos, or purpose, may be at work in reality.
• 00:50:00 Terence McKenna discusses the idea that reality is nothing more than a socially-sanctioned hallucination, which can be broken apart by using drugs or philosophical insight.
• 00:55:00 Terence McKenna discusses the ways in which language can create hallucinations in the mind. He explains that the use of language can create entire worlds in the minds of listeners, and that these worlds can be quite different from the real world.