The Psychology Book

148

See also: William James 38–45 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39

T

imothy Leary was an

American psychologist

who became an iconic

figure of the 1960s counterculture,

coining possibly the most widely

used catchphrase linked with that

era: “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.”

However, the order in which

Leary wished us to do these three

things is slightly different. He felt

that society was polluted by politics,

and made up of sterile, generic

communities that do not allow the

depth of meaning needed by true

individuals. The first thing he

thought we should do is “Drop Out,”

by which he meant that we should

detach ourselves from artificial

attachments and become self-reliant

in thought and deed. Unfortunately,

“Drop Out” has been misinterpreted

as urging people to halt productivity,

which was never his intention.

Next, Leary tells us to “Turn

On,” or delve into our unconscious,

and “find a sacrament which

returns you to the temple of God,

your own body.” This is a command

to explore deeper layers of reality, as

well as the many levels of experience

and consciousness. Drugs were one

way to do this, and Leary, a Harvard

professor, began experimenting

with the hallucinogenic drug LSD.

To “Tune In,” Leary asks us to

return to society with a new vision,

seeking fresh patterns of behavior

that reflect our transformation, and

to teach others our newfound ways. ■

IN CONTEXT

APPROACH

Experimental psychology

BEFORE

1890s William James says

that the self has four layers:

the biological, the material,

the social, and the spiritual.

1956 Abraham Maslow

stresses the importance of

“peak experiences” in the

route to self-actualization.

AFTER

1960s British psychiatrist

Humphry Osmond coins the

term “psychedelic” to describe

the emotional effects of the

drugs LSD and mescaline.

1962 In his “Good Friday

Experiment,” US psychiatrist

and theologian Walter Pahnke

tests if psychedelic drugs can

deepen religious experience.

1972 US psychologist Robert

E. Ornstein argues in The

Psychology of Consciousness

that only personal experience

can unlock the unconscious.

The psychedelic movement of the

1960s was heavily influenced by Leary’s

call to create a better, more satisfying

society by exploring the unconscious to

uncover our true emotions and needs.

TURN ON,

T U N E I N ,

DROP OUT

T I M O T H Y L E A R Y ( 1 9 2 0 – 1 9 9 6 )