and 1670, the romantics affine spiitaiy, lone eam and nt ion, shared an apocalypefevor, and condensed bourgeois ahs. They, too, had found youth sublime “Most stkingly, the romantics had long ago renounced reason. In his Moral Letter, Rousseau, the romans’ hero, cou wel have ben her alding the paramount theme of the counterculture: “For ws, {eel and eur sensibility i incontestably more iprtant than reason, ‘Whi did I bother to drive down the California coast on that beatiful day fora rendezvous at Big Su? ‘Although to ed and too eyical forthe communal ie, Iwas disen- chanted wth my own age group, the “silent generation” ofthe 19508. had been called a Coonomat by types high school and an narchist by my fellow students at Stanford fr oppsing French interention in Indo-China, questioning the McCarthy witeh-huns, and pectesting aginst oltions of cil rghs. Disigreing with the ideologies of my contem- porais, I thought that ast pos the allemative lifestyles ofthe cou {erclture might old out hope for more than just conformity to new das. Thad been away for several year—in France, where de Gaulle fought 4 precarious ttle aginst Algerian general: n Egy, where the Aswan High Dum temporary smmed the tide of desperate poverty alin Kal, ‘where bute tied to build a new society. The tsk ofthe humanistic Sociolgit was fo understand and, if pole, contubute to these ater tobeter the human condition But when I etumed to Stanford, where Iwas 2 member of the faculty, 1 discovered that anew breed of vcilopsts reigned supreme, They were scientists sincerely, even fanatical, convinced that human aspiations And relationships should be compressed into mathematical eyatons. For Sch scholar, artical eeeiment wth college sophomores encapsulate the lash dives of human societies It scemed conceivable to me that he ‘iopian experimentation, presi sensi and heathy rebehion of "he ower ellen ord mor intresting hips into human pes ites than did the insights of contemporary socal Science “Ths, ia mond of dicnchantment and pure cuouy, I welcomed a call fiom two of my exclasmates at Stanford, Michael Murphy and Rich fd Price, the foundew ofthe Ean Insite, a semi-inllectalretest for sestivity training, They asked iT would belp Wo lad a seminar on attaining slFAnowledge I agped, not least because Big Sur had become a this mecea forthe conmtereitire. It scred to me Hat American Seciolagst sould not neglect ths abant movement Aa [rounded the last treacherous cue above Big Sur, Us the mag nicent house of Henry Mill, glasrenclosed monument to the profits The Comme f How Chile: Ee nl Sere” 6 cf sacious erate, ating out on + promontory ino the Pace. Not terra tthe ground of Eslen nate gan appearing, tien bul bced oto the white-capped oct, Cabins and N- fame bling, toe ith glee dome tage, mere teed snd fing sia cain down he noun. ‘When I pled nt the ened davenay in font f the main ee 0 young women in pant sntume ran upto heer. They looked ight eel Are you Dr. McCord” ne ad breathy. aa Come gic. Helen has OD." what Am overdone f LSD,” theater i I protested. “Bat im nt that ind of ctr" tdacst mater. Youte the only doctor weve gt. You can ak with tes at et” ect love hem down apt ait abn beside a sea, Inside, pty bat dvd woman lyon a mats, ting beh, Inaghing then ean Cala veal doctor,” id “lesa he wa from Carmel Hel ake ours” “Get eid "TH ty with ero no.” "ed ling wi the woman, but her incoheent speech —semeting about devils and wiches an black deme no oe. Ae pape Sea of alning he, twat she el erp, an then opened the thar ofthe etn roe Richard Price, oe ofthe leader of Fsln, came marching down the tel He wastes, age, We had altel Stanford get, bt Ie lok decade younger Dread inthe chechered shit of Humber ‘nck, Levis and bot, bronzed by Big Sus sun and muscled, Pc had ‘tndeagne rejnenation Thad a acen him in Cambridge, whee he Tad spent ayer a Harvard aka gadte ten in ploy before sey and athe myst dropping oat, The gy pallor and te tummed ses of tse da had disapeared. Was tthe god ie at Es Ten tat had fone Mt “Late tle over bed ado coming” “Yes, but we rely dot nec him, This faking ot happens nly onze ns bund tne Helen did havea satel ade oe fertip= Price asumed that knew as much about LSD as he dd dt, nd {wing allowed hm to hve me Thal fst encountered LSD in «profonoelviar ot» Beton pp