The Cosmic Serpent

infobox Book |
name = The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge
title_orig = Le serpent cosmique, l'ADN et les origines du savoir
translator =


image_caption = Penguin paperback cover, showing symbolic correspondence between an image of a snake and DNA
author = Jeremy Narby
cover_artist =
country =
language = French
series =
genre =
publisher = Georg
release_date = 1998
english_pub_date =1998
media_type = Print (book)
pages = 257
isbn = ISBN 2825704954
preceded_by =
followed_by = Intelligence in Nature

"The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge" is a 1995 non-fiction book by Jeremy Narby. Narby performed two years of field work in the Pichis Valley of the Peruvian Amazon researching the ecology of the Asháninka, an indigenous peoples in Peru.

Investigating the connections between shamanism and molecular biology, Narby hypothesizes that shamans may be able to access information at the molecular level through the ingestion of entheogens, specifically ayahuasca. Biophysicist Jacques Dubochet criticized Narby for not testing his hypothesis.cite book
last =Narby
first =Jeremy
authorlink =Jeremy Narby
title =Intelligence in Nature
publisher =Penguin
date =2006
pages =1-2, 149-150
isbn =1585423998 ] Narby and three molecular biologists revisited the Peruvian Amazon to try to test the hypothesis, and their work is featured in the documentary film, "Night of the Liana". [cite book
last =Grant
first =John
authorlink =Paul Barnett (author)
title =Discarded Science
publisher =Sterling Publishing
date =2006
pages =285-286
isbn = 1904332498 ]

Further reading

*Posner, Michael. (Jul/Aug 2006). " [http://www.walrusmagazine.com/print/2006.07-anthropology-plants-with-soul/ Plants with Soul] ". "The Walrus. Summer Reading Issue.
*Shanon, Benny. (2002). "Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience". Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199252920
*Stewart, Todd. "The Cosmic Serpent: An interview with Jeremy Narby". "Ascent Magazine". 3: Body as a Spiritual Tool.

ee also

* Serpent (symbolism)

References