Pathway 02 — Psychedelics & Science
Pathway 05 — Consciousness & Spirituality
Psychedelics and Human Evolution
Did psychedelics help make us human? Michael James Winkelman, PhD draws on anthropology, neuroscience, primate behaviour, and archaeology to build a rigorous, multi-faceted case for psilocybin’s role in the cognitive leap that shaped our species.
● 6 modules
● 20 lessons
● 44 minutes
● All levels
Michael Winkelman, PhD
Anthropologist
course overview
“This course examines a multi-faceted array of evidence — from primate behaviour and archaeological findings to cutting-edge neuroscience and clinical research — to build a serious, scholarly case for the profound impact of psychedelics on the story of our species. No prior knowledge of neuroscience or anthropology required.”
what you will learn
Trace the intertwined history of humans and psychedelics — from primate ancestors to the development of early hominid societies
Understand the neuroscience of psychedelic experience: serotonin, dopamine, altered consciousness, and the roots of enhanced creativity and social bonding
Examine psilocybin’s role in the evolution of shamanism, ritualistic behaviour, and the emergence of religious belief across cultures
Discover how psychedelics may have shaped the cognitive niche — enhancing visual processing, cognitive flexibility, and the development of shared mental models
Explore the dopaminergic personality and its link to shamanism, and how psilocybin’s influence on dopamine may have shaped human cooperation and social dynamics
Analyse the contemporary resurgence of psychedelic research and consider the ethical implications of integrating these substances into modern society
course sYllabus
free preview — Module 1 · Lesson 1
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Introduction: Why Psychedelics Matter for Human Evolution
Michael James Winkelman introduces the central argument of the course — that psychedelic substances, especially psilocybin mushrooms, played a significant role in the cognitive leap that distinguishes humans from other primates. A compelling orientation to the multi-disciplinary evidence ahead.
aprox: 2 minutes
about the instructor
Michael James Winkelman, PhD
Anthropologist · Arizona State University (retired) · University of California, Irvine
Michael James Winkelman, Ph.D. (University of California–Irvine), M.P.H. (University of Arizona) is retired from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. Winkelman has spent his career on cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research on shamanism and its biological bases, resulting in landmark works including Shamans, Priests and Witches (1992) and Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing (2010).
He addressed the therapeutic applications of psychedelics in his co-edited Psychedelic Medicine (2007) and Advances in Psychedelic Medicine (2019), and examined the intersection of psychedelics and religion in his co-authored Supernatural as Natural (2008). He currently researches psychedelics, sociality, and human evolution from central Brazil.
Anthropology
Shamanism
Psychedelic Medicine
Human Evolution
Consciousness Studies
Neurotheology
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