Bristow Paranoid Knowledge

Psychoanalysis and the Interpretation of Mad Writing
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-3-031-99735-8
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 181 Seiten

Reihe: Social Sciences (R0)

This book inserts Lacanian theory into contemporary debates within the emerging interdisciplinary field of ‘Mad Studies’ via an analysis of psychotic writing. The author questions what psychoanalysis can offer a progressive, emancipatory means for engaging madness. Taking the   and the   as the primary sites of investigation, the book examines how the written representations of paranoid psychosis have historically been exploited to further clinical insights and forms of social critique. 

reveals how Lacan’s theorisations of the sinthome, the universal condition of psychosis and the overdetermined nature of any interpretation provide theoretical alliance to Mad Studies and critical mental health endeavours.  By focusing on the taut interrelation between knowledge production, diagnostic structure and technological development, Bristow demonstrates how an individual’s madness can harness, reformulate or channel broader socio-cultural themes. As such, the author contends that psychosis can be shown to have value beyond mere pathology and may offer us a privileged position to grasp psychosocial processes. This book will offer fresh insights for students and scholars of psychoanalysis, critical psychiatry, literary theory, philosophy, and cultural studies.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bristow, Alan

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction: Schreber Re-coded.- 2. “Every Science is Structured like a Psychosis”.- 3. ‘Inspired Writing’ - Schizographie & Mad Studies.- 4. PKD An Ontological Break.

Über Autor(innen)

Alan Bristow  is a psychiatric social worker in London, UK whose interests include the application of critical frameworks to the field of statutory mental health intervention. He is co-editor of