A guess at the Schultes riddle

Abstract

Between 1941 and 1953, Richard Evans Schultes, considered the foremost figure in ethnobotany, conducted extensive field research among indigenous communities in the Colombian, Peruvian, and Brazilian Amazon. During this period, he cataloged over 1,200 new botanical species and deeply investigated the cultural and medicinal uses of plants with consciousness-altering potential. His main area of study focused on Banisteriopsis Caapi, a native vine used in the preparation of Ayahuasca. In a 1986 article, Schultes reported a puzzling mystery: how could indigenous informants identify, from a distance and without hesitation, the chemotype of different variants of this species? In this paper, we examine Schultes’ enigma from the perspective of the philosophy of cognition, particularly through the contributions of Kant and Peirce. We propose an investigative framework that, through the analysis of key concepts from these two philosophers' proposals, allows us to speculate on possible hypotheses for solving the enigma. Along this framework, we consider different approaches to human cognition, aesthetics, the possibilities of cognitive expansion through biological artifacts, and the divergences and convergences of different epistemological conceptions. In conclusion, we propose that, in the context analyzed, Ayahuasca may have been used by Amerindian natives as a cognitive artifact with the potential to enhance perceptual abilities. Thus, in our approach, Schultes’ enigma reveals itself not only as an ethnobotanical challenge but as a gateway to investigating broader questions about human knowledge and its possibilities.