A lot of specialists in the field of psychology andPsychiatry uses the knowledge that one of the most famous American neuroscientists has gained. He studied the consciousness of dolphins, was able to enrich psychology with revolutionary methods of scientific research. Also in the course of his experiments, this scientist obtained very interesting scientific data. Who is this mysterious person?
D. Lilly - childhood
This is John Lilly - doctor, biophysicist, inventor andneurophysiologist. His main specialization, he chose the study of states of consciousness. Lilly was born on January 6, 1915 in the city of Saint-Paul, Minnesota. For a long time he was a prominent representative of the counterculture and belonged to the same school as Ram Dass and Timothy Leary. When the boy was 10 years old, his parents, who were deeply religious Catholics, were preparing him for service at the altar. John was a sickly boy, immersed in a world of his own thoughts and fantasies.
At first, he pleased his parents with success onthe difficult task of the future priest: the child diligently prayed, sang songs in the spiritual choir, attended services. However, Lilly soon realized that the church was not the place where he would like to see himself. After all, religious dogmas have always hampered human freedom. John always tried to defend the right to his own opinion, and the church life for him could not be combined with a similar worldview. Parents, at the request of the boy, transferred him from the church to the academic school.
Youth and interest in the sciences
At 13, Lilly began to show interestvarious sciences. He was particularly attracted to chemistry. From this age, John begins to conduct various chemical experiments. After studying at St. Paul’s Academy, he graduated from Dartmouth Medical School and then Caltech and the University of Pennsylvania.
In 1942, he received a doctorate degree.medical sciences. Until 1956, John Lilly was teaching at the same university. In parallel with teaching, he studies psychoanalytic theory and biophysics.
Sensory deprivation chamber
In 1954, Lilly tested insulation for the first time.a reservoir with which it was possible to conduct various experiments on sensory deprivation. The invention of this reservoir was the result of his heightened interest in the study of human consciousness.
And the first experiments are a brave explorer.spent on himself. In the end, reservoirs for sensory deprivation and brought fame to John Lilly. Now everyone can visit the procedure of sensory deprivation, which is called floating. However, not everyone knows who and when was the first inventor of the camera for sensory deprivation.
Study of mind programming
Up until 1968, Lilly is directorInstitute of Communications, the founder of which was himself. At this time, he was studying the characteristics of dolphin consciousness. At this time, Lilly became interested in drug use - LSD and ketamine. The results of these studies were published in one of the books by John Lilly - "Programming and metaprogramming of a human biocomputer".
In this work, Lilly names every adulthuman pre-programmed biocomputer. Every adult programs himself and is able to program others. However, despite the variety of various programs, the choice in the hands of a person is always limited. Lilly believes that a person inherited some of the programs from his predecessors - single-celled sponges, corals, worms that came out of the sea. The life program is transmitted through a genetic code.
As the nervous system and its sizeliving creatures are increasing, programming is becoming increasingly difficult. It is no longer confined to solving questions of the survival and reproduction of offspring. Lilly calls the human cerebral cortex "new computer", which appeared in the process of evolution in order to control and manage the lower brain sections.
When a few million years ago the sizethe cortex of the brain has reached a critical size, the ability to self-study has arisen. The emergence of various disciplines - mathematics, physics, philosophy, art, etc. - is possible only with the presence of the cerebral cortex, which has reached the desired size.
Life balance
His research on sensory deprivation hecombined with taking drugs. He was married three times, his last wife, Antonetta Oshman, died in 1996. John Lilly himself spent the last years of his life in the Hawaiian Islands. He died in 2001 in Los Angeles. Throughout his life, Lilly has written 125 scientific papers in various fields. A study on the study of dolphins led to the fact that in 1972 in America, a law was passed to protect the rights of this species of mammals.
Dolphin Research
Studying the ability to communicate dolphins foundreflected in the writings of John Lilly. “Dolphin Thinking”, “Man and Dolphin” - these are his works in this area. However, other researchers did not confirm the results of his experiments in the laboratory. For example, scientists have refuted the statement that dolphins can be taught the alphabet and words of the English language.
Once, when one of the dolphins was lowered intoswimming pool, the animal hit its head and lost consciousness. Dolphin began to sink to the bottom. At this time, his comrades pushed the wounded animal to the surface of the water and held it until the dolphin could not breathe normally again. After this incident, John Lilly concluded that dolphins are social animals that are ready to help each other in a critical situation.
Other works by Lilly
Another of the famous books of John Lilly - "Centercyclone ". This work is the fruit of the search for the meaning of life, for which the author took about 50 years. Studying the human brain, the work of consciousness in terms of sensory deprivation and psychoanalysis, Lilly tried to find his own thread of truth. Also in his work, Lilly describes the results of his experiences using drugs - LSD and ketamine.
What other books by John Lilly might be interestedfans of his unusual creativity? This is the work “Double Cyclone”, “The Center of the Cyclone. Grain to the mill. " Many of them are not translated into Russian, but may be of interest to those who speak English - Simulations of God, The deep self, The Scientist: A Novel Autobiography.
