The Doors of Perception

The Doors of Perception is a 1954 book by Aldous Huxley detailing his experiences when taking mescaline. The title comes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: One of the earliest criticisms of The Doors of Perception was by RC Zaehner, a professor at Oxford University. Zaehner acknowledged the importance of the book’s challenge to people interested in religious experience, while pointing out what he saw as inconsistencies and self... more

The Doors of Perception is a 1954 book by Aldous Huxley detailing his experiences when taking mescaline. The title comes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: One of the earliest criticisms of The Doors of Perception was by RC Zaehner, a professor at Oxford University. Zaehner acknowledged the importance of the book’s challenge to people interested in religious experience, while pointing out what he saw as inconsistencies and self-contradictions. Zaehner’s criticisms of The Doors of Perception were set out in his book Mysticism Sacred and Profane, which also acts as a theistic riposte to what he sees as the monism of Huxley’s The Perennial Philosophy. Zaehner concludes that Huxley’s apprehensions under mescaline are affected by his deep familiarity with Vedanta and Mahayana Buddhism. So, the experience may not be the same for others who take the drug and don’t have this background, although they will undoubtedly experience a transformation of sensation. That the... less