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Document Details :

Title: Filosofie en waanzin
Subtitle: Kristalreceptuur: naar een ommekeer van de natuurlijke levenhouding
Author(s): KUSTERS, Wouter
Journal: Tijdschrift voor Filosofie
Volume: 78    Issue: 1   Date: 2016   
Pages: 3-31
DOI: 10.2143/TVF.78.1.3157073

Abstract :
In this article the relation between philosophy and madness is examined from both the perspective of phenomenological philosophy and psychiatry, and the narratives of those with a diagnosis of psychosis. Three theses are proposed: 1) a (phenomenological) philosophical attitude towards psychotic experience yields more insightful, substantial descriptions of madness; 2) serious and consistent philosophical reasoning shows remarkable affinities and similarities with patterns in psychotic experience; 3) from madness proto-philosophical thought springs forward. In following the lines of intense mad ‘hyper-reflexivity’ and perplexity we may discover a rich world of para-philosophy, one that corresponds to philosophical ideas driven by a less strained reflexivity and wonder. By examining the relation between philosophy and madness both parties may profit: psychotic experience may be further clarified and brought into easier relation with non-psychotic thought and practice, while philosophy may gain by widening its range of perspectives on reality and human subjectivity.

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