The Paradoxes of Delusion: Wittgenstein, Schreber, and the Schizophrenic Mind

by Louis A. Sass

Overview

Insanity—in clinical practice as in the popular imagination—is seen as a state of believing things that are not true and perceiving things that do not exist. Most schizophrenics, however, do not act as if they mistake their delusions for reality. In a work of uncommon insight and empathy, Louis A. Sass shatters conventional thinking about insanity by juxtaposing the narratives of delusional schizophrenics with the philosophical writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801422102
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	12/14/1993
Series:	6/25/2004
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Louis A. Sass is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University. He is the author of Madness and Modernism: Insanity in the Light of Modern Art, Literature, and Thought.

What People are Saying About This

Sander L. Gilman

Sass wants to do something in this book which it is generally believed cannot be done-to provide an 'essential' definition of schizophrenia. Sass wishes to do this because his definition of schizophrenia parallels many of the cultural manifestations of twentieth-century life. A clearly written, well-argued book which will have a lot of people talking about it.

Editorial Reviews

In this scholarly and well-written book, the author seeks to reinterpret Schreber by means of the following idiosyncratic syllogism: the doctrine of solipsism is central in Wittgenstein; solipsism is an explanation of schizophrenia; solipsism is an explaination of Schreber.

Psychoanalytic Books

"Sass wants to do something in this book which it is generally believed cannot be done-to provide an 'essential' definition of schizophrenia. Sass wishes to do this because his definition of schizophrenia parallels many of the cultural manifestations of twentieth-century life. A clearly written, well-argued book which will have a lot of people talking about it."

Sander L. Gilman

To demonstrate his contention that schizophrenia is not the loss of rationality but the extreme result of a consciousness turned inward, Sass (clinical psychology. Rutgers U.) juxtaposes the words of delusional schizophrenics with the philosophical writings of Wittgenstein. He also applies Wittgenstein's ideas to Daniel Paul Shreber's Memoirs of My Nervous Illness which was considered a model of psychotic thought by Freud and his colleagues. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

In this scholarly and well-written book, the author seeks to reinterpret Schreber by means of the following idiosyncratic syllogism: the doctrine of solipsism is central in Wittgenstein; solipsism is an explanation of schizophrenia; solipsism is an explaination of Schreber.

-- "Psychoanalytic Books"

From the Publisher