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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the author describe our ancestors' winter diets in Appendix 2?

2. What materials were often used for self-flagellation?

3. According to the author, what did one subject see while under the effects of mescalin and the second technique described in Appendix 1?

4. According to the author, what are the odds of a negative reaction with the second technique described in Appendix 1?

5. Why is it important that people can sometimes be hypnotized by gemstones?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is different about the two forms of visionary art discussed in Appendix 3?

2. What does the author say about the history of fireworks, in Appendix 3?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the second vision-inducing method discussed in Appendix 1?

4. What experiment was conducted on the human brain by Penfield?

5. In what other way did faithful people sometimes induce religious visions, according to the author?

6. What does the author say in "Heaven and Hell" about gemstones?

7. What does the author say in "Heaven and Hell" about the two possible techniques for achieving the level of consciousness needed to explore the mind?

8. In general, what is the topic of the first essay?

9. According to the author, what is the role of psychics and mystics in the modern Western world, and why?

10. What effects did our ancestors experience as a result of their diets, according to the information presented in Appendix 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Huxley uses zoology as a metaphor for the unexplored regions of the human mind. What is a metaphor? What is Huxley trying to convey by using this metaphor? Is the metaphor effective and appropriate? If not, is there a more appropriate one which he could have used, and why would it have been better? Did this metaphor aid your understanding of Huxley's point?

Essay Topic 2

Huxley claims that people are so used to Nature, as it is seen from an everyday perspective, that they are fooled into thinking they know everything about it. What changes for people, according to Huxley, when this perspective is altered?

Essay Topic 3

Huxley discusses the role of vision-inducing methods in religion and spirituality. Why are vision-inducing methods often used in religion? What is the importance of visions in religion? What were the methods most commonly used by religious and spiritual zealots?

(see the answer keys)

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