--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm proposing on one level that…" description: "\"I'm proposing on one level that hallucinogens be thought of as almost as social pheromones that regulate the rate at which language develops, and there..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/terence-mckenna-287_culture_i-m-proposing-on-one-level-that-hallucin_749807.png" --- # I'm proposing on one level that hallucinogens be thought… ![“I'm proposing on one level that hallucinogens be thought of as almost as social pheromones that regulate the rate at which language develops, and therefore regulate human culture generally.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/terence-mckenna-287_culture_i-m-proposing-on-one-level-that-hallucin_749807.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/terence-mckenna-287_culture_i-m-proposing-on-one-level-that-hallucin_749807.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/terence-mckenna-287_culture_i-m-proposing-on-one-level-that-hallucin_749807.png) > “I'm proposing on one level that hallucinogens be thought of as almost as social pheromones that regulate the rate at which language develops, and therefore regulate human culture generally.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hallucinogens may act like social pheromones, accelerating language change and shaping culture. **In simple terms:** Psychedelics could speed up how we talk and think. Key Takeaway Consider how altered states affect communication. Themes culture language psychedelics Mood thought‑provoking speculative Type theoretical philosophical When to use this quote - creative brainstorming - artistic collaboration - language learning - cultural policy Key Concepts anthropology neuroscience Questions to Reflect On - Can altered perception truly drive linguistic evolution? - What risks arise from using drugs to influence culture? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex cultural dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Hallucinogens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallucinogens/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Pheromones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pheromones/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) ## Related quotes > [I don't believe that shamanism without hallucinogens is authentic shamanism or comfortable shamanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-don-t-believe-that-shamanism-without-hallucinogens-is-authentic/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No one yet understands the mysterious intelligence within plants or the implications of the idea that nature communicates in a basic chemical language that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-one-yet-understands-the-mysterious-intelligence-within-plants-or/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The pro-psychedelic plant position is clearly an antidrugs position. Drug dependencies are the result of habitual, unexamined, and obsessive behavior; these are precisely the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-pro-psychedelic-plant-position-is-clearly-an-antidrugs-position/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [In the absence of good scientific data about the effects of artificial hallucinogens it's good to stick to the natural ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/in-the-absence-of-good-scientific-data-about-the-effects-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are alienated, so alienated that the self must disguise itself as an extraterrestrial in order not to alarm us with the truly bizarre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-alienated-so-alienated-that-the-self-must-disguise-itself-as/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I really think there is a very large distinction between synthetic and naturally occurring drugs. ... I think that these plants 'take people' as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-really-think-there-is-a-very-large-distinction-between-synthetic/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And that we cannot go to space with our feet in the mud. Nor can we in fact turn ourselves into an eco-sensitive hallucinogenic-based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-that-we-cannot-go-to-space-with-our-feet-in-the-mud-nor-can-we-in/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [It's my belief that one of the unconscious reasons which underlies the odd attitude of the establishment toward hallucinogens is the fact that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/it-s-my-belief-that-one-of-the-unconscious-reasons-which-underlies/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [For unknown reasons, there is a tremendous concentration of psychoactive plants on the South American continent. The South American continent has more known hallucinogens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/for-unknown-reasons-there-is-a-tremendous-concentration-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I think it's the sheer power of the hallucinogens that puts people off. You either love them or you hate them, and that's because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-think-it-s-the-sheer-power-of-the-hallucinogens-that-puts-people/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [DMT is the most powerful hallucinogen there is. If it gets stronger than that I don't want to know about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/dmt-is-the-most-powerful-hallucinogen-there-is-if-it-gets-stronger/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [It's possible to see the whole human growth movement of the 1970s as a wish to continue the inward quest without having to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/it-s-possible-to-see-the-whole-human-growth-movement-of-the-1970s-as/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [It's the only hallucinogen I know, where if it's made right, the next day, or the day after the experience, you actually feel better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/it-s-the-only-hallucinogen-i-know-where-if-it-s-made-right-the-next/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No perfume. Because I want to know how you smell - right off the bat. Don't mask it up. I need to know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-d-elia/no-perfume-because-i-want-to-know-how-you-smell-right-off-the-bat-don/) [Chris D'Elia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-d-elia/) > [“The saliva of each species is different, and trees can match the saliva to the insect. 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All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Culture quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. 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