The case that madness is philosophy in practice
I have twice undergone uninterrupted periods of roughly two months each in which I was “mad” and was diagnosed as “psychotic” by psychiatrists. Both periods are sharply etched in my memory; they differ from all the other periods in my life. During these two periods, I experienced many thoughts, perceptions, and interpretations that were decidedly different from those I had in “normal” life. For…
The wire material describes a personal account of the author's experiences with periods of "madness" or psychosis. During these episodes, they had thoughts, perceptions, and interpretations that were markedly different from their usual "normal" state of mind. These episodes led the author to believe in far-fetched ideas such as linguistic uniformity, the non-existence of a gap between thinking and being, and a belief in telepathy.
The author also expresses concern about the medicalization of madness, which often reduces the mad world to a brain disorder or a malfunctioning dopamine level. They argue that madness is a unique experience that cannot be fully understood by merely examining brain structures or chemical imbalances.
The material touches on the historical and philosophical perspectives on madness, drawing connections to the works of philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, and Friedrich Nietzsche. These thinkers suggest that madness should not be viewed merely as a medical issue but as a profound and potentially liberating experience that challenges our conventional understanding of reality.
The author concludes by highlighting the case of Plotinus, a Neoplatonist philosopher from the third century CE, who experienced moments of "contact" with the divine, which could be likened to a mystical or psychotic experience. The author ends by inviting the reader to consider madness not just as a disorder to be treated, but as a doorway to a deeper, more expansive way of thinking and understanding the world.
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