Ayahuasca as liquid divinity: An ontological approach By André van der Braak, Lanham: Lexington Books. 2023. 229 pp.
Year: 2024
Type: book-review
Abstract: Psychedelics and the organisms that contain them have become a popular topic of research in recent years.As an anthropologist whose current work focuses on the use of psychedelics for drug treatment, I have read my fair share of this research.I am particularly drawn to scholarship on plant-derived psychedelics, so I was excited to read the latest book by philosopher of religion André van der Braak on ayahuasca, a brew made from plants native to South America that contains the psychoactive N,Ndimethyltryptamine (DMT).It was apparent to me from the first page that the book is not the kind of anthropological ethnography on psychedelics that I am accustomed to reading, which usually focuses on healing practices associated with psychedelics.Instead, it is, in van der Braak's own words, an "experimental book that explores ontological questions that arise out of the religious use of ayahuasca" (ix).I found this summation intriguing, as there are, to my knowledge, few contemporary philosophical studies of ayahuasca, let alone other psychedelics.From the outset, van der Braak is clear that his philosophical analysis specifically focuses on ayahuasca practitioners, those for whom ayahuasca is a sacrament to facilitate spiritual transformations associated with such religions as Santo Daime and União do Vegetal as well as (neo)shamanic groups.He wants to understand how and to what effect ayahuasca is incorporated into their contemplative practices.Such attention to practice is central to his approach to religion in this book; it is not just about belief or doctrine but "participating in ritual practices that aim at cultivating connection with more-than-human powers" (5).Examining the religious uses of ayahuasca in this manner is an apt way for van der Braak to ask a range of philosophical questions, mostly ontological in nature.In line with the so-called ontological turn of the last few decades, van der Braak's questions are not about the "true" reality of the world but rather how we might see the world differently with respect to ayahuasca religiosity.Notable is his comparison of ayahuasca religious practices with the secular modernity of the "West."He explains how "Western" and "indigenous" philosophies perceive the relationships between culture and nature and human and non-human in distinct ways; for instance, the latter sees little to no division between the natural and supernatural while the former does.While I am not all entirely comfortable with van der Braak's essentialization of "Western" and "indigenous" beliefs or traditions in his analysis, I do appreciate his effort to show how analyzing the religious uses of ayahuasca requires us to think in new ways about what is at play.He writes, "Ontological categories of Western modernity are too restrictive in the kind of entities that they allow to exist" (6).Thus, troubling how we think about the religious uses of ayahuasca opens up the possibility for comprehending and engaging with ontological worlds where more-than-human powers are center stage instead of peripheral or nonexistent.From my perspective, this is what van der Braak tries to accomplish most with this book.
Source: Medical Anthropology Quarterly
DOI: 10.1111/maq.12893
Author: Shana Harris
Institution: University of Central Florida
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4403242772