Approaching life's edges and boundaries / Terence McKenna.

Talk by Terence McKenna, researcher into psychedelic plants and their impact upon the human condition. This presentation suggests that as people approach life boundaries, they make choices concerning change. Language separates us from approaching new perspectives, McKenna suggests, but we must come to understand how we are formed to fit a societal image. One of the most significant aspects of human evolution is our ability to command the past and anticipate the future. It is those people who challenge standard perceptions of our experience (such as shamans, priests, and midwives) who force us toward the edges of ordinary reality. McKenna then turns to a critique of capitalism, which dictates ownership and growth, as opposed to Democracy, which involves social integration. The future of our planet, he concludes, is tied to the victory of Democracy over capitalistic assumptions.