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Roy Mason
5 June 2015

Monkeys with Perspective

Did taking mushrooms allow apes to evolve into humans? Terrance McKenna proposed a
theory called the Stoned Ape theory to describe how one drug could be used as a catalyst to
begin the evolutionary process that made us human. The giant leap in development in the brain
over a short period of time was the result of this evolution. One obvious truth when examining
the animal kingdom is that the human experience is uniquely deep. Comparing ourselves to other
living beings is difficult because their experiences cannot be expressed in a form we can
understand. Its hard to say at what point in the evolutionary process we officially became
human. However, it seems that the human experience is shaped by the fact that humans somehow
gained the ability to look at the world around them in completely different ways. Being human is
using ones understanding and perspective on the world to express oneself creatively, to ignore
the sense of self, to deeply care for human well-being, to strive to better ones life and to believe
that ones efforts shapes their future.
Terence McKenna theorizes that humanities ancestors ingested psilocybin mushrooms
and this was when we created something uniquely human: art. About 100 thousand years ago the
desertification of the rain forests due to climate change caused early primates to migrate to the
grasslands. While following herds of cows and eating whatever they could find, the humans
ancestors would have discovered psilocybin mushrooms which are known to grow under cow
waste. McKenna recognizes that Chimpanzees and other primates have been recorded eating
flies and other bugs living underneath cow waste. Taking Psilocybin mushrooms, especially
when taken in small doses, has been shown to improve vision in studies. In the wild, being able

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to see predators and prey would very advantageous. At larger doses, mushrooms would lead to
sexual arousal; those who stubbornly refused to eat mushrooms would eventually be removed
from the gene pool due to them having less offspring than those who did eat them. Its evident
that those who took mushrooms would have an evolutionary advantage. In the primate family,
almost every species has a male dominated hierarchy. McKenna theorizes that the mushroom
would have acted to dissolve boundaries, promoting community bonding and group sexual
activities. This bonding would be the first aspect in human society that wasnt brought about by
the desire to survive. McKenna states that at high doses mushrooms would be Triggering
activity in the language-forming region of the brain, manifesting as music and vision thus
catalyzing the emergence of language in early hominids. Archaeology shows us that drug use
has in fact influenced art in the ancient world, Prehistoric cave paintings across the continents
have similar geometric patterns [] because they were high on drugs, and their brainslike
ourshave a biological predisposition to see certain patterns, especially during consciousness
altering states (Rosenfeld). Language and art are, at their core, a way for people to understand
and infer what others thoughts and emotions. The expression of thought through art and
language is a unique attribute and invention of the human race. Furthermore, understanding
peoples thoughts led to the loss of the sense of self or ego.
The ability to recognize that there is more to this world than ones own experience,
allows for religion which is uniquely a human belief. In his book, Waking Up, Neuroscientist,
Sam Harris, describes how during meditation the feeling of self will disappear; what remains, as
a matter of experience, is a field of consciousnessfree, undivided, and intrinsically
uncontaminated by its ever-changing contents (Harris 73). Harris explains how introspection
can lead to the dissolving of the ego. Similarly, Terrence McKenna theorizes that as humans

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early hominid ancestors became introspective through the use of mushrooms, The ego would be
dissolved. He believed that religious concerns would be at the forefront of the tribe's
consciousness, simply because of the power and strangeness of the experience itself. The
dissolving of the ego and forming of religion come from a deeper understanding about death.
The fact that every living thing dies is something only humans are aware of. In fact, it took
researchers at Tulane University thousands of tries using sign language with a gorilla until he
finally understood that he was going to die. Its logical to say that as early humans gained a
larger perspective and became more introspective, they would eventually realize that death is
enviable. In the study of the gorilla, the gorilla signed back to the researches that he was scared
and he was sad after learning about the horrors of death. Assuming this fear was shared by early
humans, religion would have been created to coup with the fear of death. As McKenna points
out, psychedelic experiences are very strange and supernatural beings would also explain these
mysterious experiences. Through greater understanding of the world, early humans grasped the
idea of death and recognized there was more to life than just their mortal experience. Dissolving
the ego and having religious concerns are characteristics of the human experience. Along with
the creation of religion, the ability to recognize ones sense of self and express oneself would
allow for a greater appreciation of others state of mind.
Being able to sympathize with others is a quality in humans that shapes modern social
structure and makes someone human. Although many people in the modern human society care
about only themselves, the structure itself is in place so everyone is happy. Empathy and
community is not only in humans. However, Human empathy can be unique in a way, because
rather than helping others for survival benefits, help can come from the understanding that there
is more to this life than just ones own survival. In Maus by Art Spiegelman, Vladek escapes a

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POW camp after being captured fighting in world war two. Throughout the book he reaches out
for help from others as he runs from the Nazis. At the time helping a Jew would be punishable by
death. Yet, knowing full well the severity of the consequences, Mrs. Motonowa invites Vladek
and his wife Anja to hide in her house (Spiegelman146-147). Maus is set in Nazi Germany and it
seems that everyone is scared for their life. According to evolution, the animal instinct to survive
would outweigh the desire to help strangers. For many people, their fear did overpower their
empathy towards others. However, those who helped Vladek showed that humans are unique in
the animal kingdom because their desire to help other people can transcend their instincts to live.
Experiences with mushrooms allowed humanities ancestors to gain a larger sense of the world
and realize that death was enviable; thus, the sense that only ones own life mattered was lost.
Religion allowed for us to see all people as people with souls that had value. With this value for
life, humans have the ability to empathize with other humans, without expecting benefit for
themselves. Empathy is an example of humans having more than what is necessary for survival.
The desire to do more in life than just survive is the largest difference between humans
and other animals. In the poem, To Pimp a Butterfly a caterpillar escapes from his cocoon after
morphing into a butterfly. The butterfly represents the inherent quality that has made, and still
makes, humans want more than is necessary for survival. In the poem, this quality is within the
caterpillar; The butterfly represents the talent, the thoughtfulness, and the beauty within the
caterpillar. As the caterpillar tries to escape the walls of the cocoon that traps him he can No
longer see past his own thoughts and Certain ideas take roots, such as going home, and
bringing back new concepts to this mad city (Butterfly 16-17). Similarly to early humans in
The Stoned Ape Theory, the caterpillars change in experience allows him to think of new
ideas about his existence. As Wings begin to emerge on the caterpillar, the cycle of feeling

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stagnant breaks and the caterpillar is free (Butterfly 19). In terms of life on earth, the stagnant
cycle is the cycle of surviving and reproducing in which every other animal on earth is stuck in.
Humans broke this cycle when they started to desire success and life beyond just surviving. The
butterfly opens the caterpillars eyes to situations that the caterpillar never considered, ending
the internal struggle (Butterfly 20-21). Similarly to the thoughts that appear in a psychedelic
experience, to the caterpillar, the butterfly feels like a different person delivering new
information. However, at the end of the poem it states that Although the butterfly and caterpillar
are completely different, they are one and the same (Butterfly 21-22). The caterpillar has found
this new information on his own; the butterfly is only a new place in his mind that the caterpillar
has discovered. The change in perspective doesnt give him a desire to do more with his life;
rather, it shows him that there is more he can and should do with his life. In both the poem and
Terrance McKennas theory, people needed changes in their perspective to be free of the chains
of ignorance, to innovate and to desire a better life experience. In the short-film, More, everyone
seems to be unhappy. The main character has an awful boss and a tedious job. Nonetheless, he
has something inside of him that is represented by color in the video; he uses his color to make
glasses that completely change his perspective on life. After the man creates the glasses he
becomes famous and eventually turning into the angry boss that he once hated. In the end, the
inventor realizes the color that once was inside of him, is no longer there and again the character
is unhappy. Similarly to To Pimp a butterfly, the main character in More comes from a
depressing place. He is in a boring or stagnant cycle, just like the caterpillar, and when the
stress is too much, the character isolates himself and starts to think. While examining himself he
finds color inside of himself and realizes what he needs to do. He uses this quality that is inside
of him to create something that is great. Just like in the caterpillars story, it takes a very

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depressing point in the inventors life for him to change his perspective and realize the potential
butterfly inside of himself. Unlike the caterpillar, when the inventor becomes successful, he loses
the butterfly that was once inside of him. He finds himself in a new stagnant cycle because of the
money-driven society that influenced him. He loses sight of where he came from and left behind
what made him happy. Unfortunately, with no drive to achieve more he devolved into an animal.
He forgot all the perspective he gained and forgot what made him happy. He fell back into a
tedious cycle that would never bring him happiness. The cycle only allowed him to chase things
that would satisfy him temporarily: like an animal, catching his prey. The inventors story shows
how new perspective can give someone a desire to do something that will bring them happiness
beyond what they once thought they could experience. It also shows that being an animal simply
means having a limited perspective on ones life. The achievements of the caterpillar, of the
character in More and of\early humans were all due to the realization they wanted more to do
with their lives. The ability to see beyond the simplicity of lifes needs and find happiness is
another way humans are different than any other animal. However, In order to achieve what will
make one happy; one must believe he has the freedom to do so.
Being human means believing the decisions one makes shape ones future. In
Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, Billy pilgrim finds himself in a stagnant cycle. Billy
experiences war and death which gives him a new perspective on life. In More and To Pimp a
Butterfly the characters use their new perspective on life to gain new knowledge about what
they can do to thrive and achieve happiness. Similarly to these characters, Billy Pilgrims new
perspective changes his mindset towards life. During the war Billy describes himself as
powerless to harm the enemy or help his friends (Vonnegut 30). Vonnegut wants to show the
reader that in war, the humanity is taken out of people; they do what they need to do to survive

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just like animals. To survive war Billy adopts a new mindset about life. He uses the words so it
goes to describe his mindset that humans have no freedom to change things, things just happen.
Billys mindset was likely created in order to alleviate any guilt, regret or remorse. However, his
new mindset does not grant him wings to escape from the stagnant cycle he is stuck in; rather,
it gives him a reason to stay in the cycle. After the war, Billy doesnt try to better his life; he still
believes he has no power to do so. Focusing on the current moment and seeing time progress
linearly is something all animals have in common. However, humans uniquely strive to create a
better life knowing that the effort put in the current moment will affect ones life in the future.
Modern society is built on the notion that working hard will pay off. Vonnegut demonstrates that
this belief in free will is what makes us human. In Slaughterhouse Five an alien species called
the Tralfamadorians explain to Billy how they had only seen free will on earth (Vonnegut 86). By
explaining this, Vonnegut implies that living in the moment and believing in free will is what
makes humans unique. Throughout the book Billy seems strange to other people because he is
stuck in a stagnant cycle of experiencing moments as a spectator and never living in the moment.
He is Unstuck in time because he never feels as if he is jumping through moments that already
happened and that he has no effect on. Billys dehumanization by the end of the book was not
due to a lack of a broad perspective on life, like an animal. On the other hand, he actually gains
perspective that ultimately convinces him, his life had no meaning, everything just happens.
After the war, Billy never regained that part of his humanity that believed his action could shape
his future. He became something other than human when he stopped believing he had control
over his life. Billy shows that the belief that one has the freedom to make a change in ones life is
an important factor in being human.

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Somewhere on the grasslands of ancient Africa, the human ancestors evolved something
that allowed them to conquer every continent on earth. The Stoned Ape Theory is just one
theory that attempts to explain our leap in development and the source of humans broader
perspective. Nevertheless, human beings have shown abilities throughout history that have go
beyond survival. For example, Humans seem to have the deepest and most dynamic emotions.
However, even the strongest emotions such as love can be seen in a many different animals for
survival purposes. It seems, the most human of all qualities is being able to zoom out on life and
see everything from different perspectives. With new perspective, every quality or aspect of the
human life, that was truly unique, could form. Being human is being able to use this better
understanding of the world to express oneself creatively, to ignore the sense of self, to deeply
care for human well-being, to strive to better ones life and to believe that ones efforts shape
ones future.