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

Sass, Louis A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801498996 ISBN 13: 9780801498992

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 1995

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review:

"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."

Source: 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."

Author: Sander L. Gilman, Cornell University

Synopsis:

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

About this edition

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0801498996
• ISBN 13: 9780801498992
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208