This is a study of the phenomenology of the special state of mind induced by Ayahuasca, a plant-based Amazonian psychotropic brew. The author's research is based both on extensive firsthand experiences with Ayahuasca, and on interviews conducted with a large number of informants.

Shanon presents his critique of the contemporary portrayal of cognition and offers a proposal for a new concept of the mind. His book offers a different outlook on the phenomenon of consciousness and presents a new conception of psychological theory and explanation.

In this wide-ranging book the author presents his critique of the contemporary portrayal of cognition, an analysis of the conceptual foundations of cognitive science and a proposal for a new concept of the mind. Shannon argues that the representational account is seriously lacking and that far from serving as a basis of cognitive activity, representations are the products of such activity. He proposes an alternative view of the mind in which the basic capability of the cognitive system is not the manipulation of symbols but rather action in the world. His book offers a different outlook on the phenomenon of consciousness and presents a new conception of psychological theory and explanation.

An analysis of cognition

Professeur de psychologie, Benny Shanon découvre, au hasard d'une randonnée en Equateur, l'existence de l'Ayahuasca, breuvage psychoactif consommé dans toute l'Amazonie. Cette découverte va bouleverser sa vie. Sa propre consommation - plus de cent fois - et ses très nombreux entretiens avec les différents consommateurs du breuvage, (populations indigènes, chamanes, membres de divers cultes religieux, voyageurs) lui permettent d'offrir ici l'enquête la plus détaillée des extraordinaires effets de la "boisson sacrée", encore aujourd'hui instrument-clé des chamanes. Passionnante réflexion sur les états modifiés de conscience reposant sur une analyse scientifique scrupuleuse, ce livre séduira tous ceux qui, dans les pas d'Aldous Huxley, désirent s'aventurer aux "antipodes de l'esprit".