Because nothing is ever certain, science always advances
E. Duclaux
I am a psychologist and pharmacologist.
Associate professor at Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Member of the psychedelics working group of the Societat Catalana de Psiquiatria i Salut Mental.
PhD candidate in Health, Psychology, and Psychiatry.
I am currently conducting scientific research through the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital (Barcelona), the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service (ICEERS), and the Medical Anthropology Research Center (MARC; Universitat Rovira i Virgili), studying psychedelic drugs.
My primary interest is to approach complex phenomena using a combination of different disciplines and lenses. I am convinced that only a broad, integrative vision will allow us to understand what all this is about.
In 1620, Francis Bacon published the Novum organum scientiarum, in which he described his method of testing hypotheses through experiments. On the cover of the book, there is an etching in which we can see a galleon passing through two massive columns, on its way to infinity. At the bottom, we read Multi pertransibunt et augebitur scientia ("Many will go beyond and science will progress").
With this etching, Bacon evoked and contested the meaning of the Greek myth: on his voyage through the Mediterranean, Hercules reached a point where the water of the sea mixed with the water from the Atlantic Ocean. There, he found two formidable columns. He thought that this was the end of the world, so he decided to emboss these words on the columns: Non terrae plus ultra.
Bacon was convinced that with his method, many would go beyond. Science continually reveals the truthfulness of Bacon’s insight.
Painting by Paula Querol, reproducing the original etching.
