New Books in History Mike Jay, "Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind" (Yale UP, 2023)
Jan 15, 2026
In this engaging discussion, Mike Jay, an expert on the history of drugs and consciousness, dives into his book, which explores the fascinating legacy of self-experimentation by scientists and thinkers. He highlights influential figures like Freud and James, revealing how their drug experiences shaped modern psychology and creativity. Jay recounts how the perception of drugs shifted from tools for exploration to societal issues. He advocates for a nuanced vocabulary around substances, urging a move away from the moralized term 'drugs'.
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Three Threads Shaping Modern Psychonautics
- Jay groups his history around cognitive enhancers, consciousness-limiting anaesthetics, and drugs that fuel creativity.
- These thematic threads converge by the late 19th century and lead into 20th-century shifts.
Scientists Who Took Their Own Experiments
- Many 19th-century scientists self-experimented with mind-altering substances and wrote vivid accounts of their experiences.
- Humphrey Davy's nitrous oxide trials made him a celebrated scientific figure and inspired literary friends like Coleridge.
Freud's Cocaine Work Prefigured His Theories
- Freud's cocaine self-experiments mixed literary first-person description with objective measurement and influenced his later thinking.
- He linked subjective euphoria to physiological performance, foreshadowing ideas about mind-driven bodily responses.
