Arguing that we ought to look to psychedelic aesthetics of the 1960s in relation to current crises in liberal democracy, this book emphasizes the intersection of European thought and the psychedelic. The first half of the book focuses on philosophical influences of Herbert Marcuse and Antonin Artaud, while the second half shifts toward literary and theoretical influences of Aldous Huxley on psychedelic aesthetics. Framed within an emergent discourse of political theology, it suggests that taking a postsecular approach to psychedelic aesthetics helps us understand deeper connections between aesthetics and politics.

Pushes beyond perennial lore in psychedelic culture to offer a different narrative for those interested in political theology. Contextualizes the psychedelic movement within intellectual impulses from early twentieth-century Europe. Argues that it is necessary to understand psychedelic aesthetics not just as a set of formal markers of certain kinds of art and music, but as a metaphysical and religious argument about a different way of conceiving subjectivity and the stakes of politics.

Autorentext
Roger Green is a lecturer in the Department of English at Metropolitan State University of Denver, USA, where he teaches English and Songwriting. He is also a working musical artist, combining literary and aesthetic ideas in sound.

Inhalt
Chapter One: Liberal Subjectivity, Religion, And The State.- Chapter Two: Psychedelic Aesthetics, Political Theology, And Religion.- Chapter Three: European Influences.- Chapter Four: The Return To 'Nature' And The Problem Of The Perennial.- Chapter Five: Theorizing The Psychedelic Experience.- Chapter Six: Psychedelic Citizenship And Re-Enchantment: Affective Aesthetics As Political Instantiation.- Chapter Seven: Aldous Huxley The Political Theologian.- Chapter Eight: Conclusion: Re-Enchantment And Psychedelic Aesthetics.