Madness as religious experience: The case of Allen Ginsberg.

Madness can be understood as a religious experience that unfolds through four developmental stages: the hurt-and-be-hurt state, a self-induced psychedelic experience, a confusion-and-dread reaction, and a reconstruction-with-insight worldview. This argument is based on existing literature and conversations with psychiatric patients. The poet Allen Ginsberg's psychotic episode is used to illustrate each stage.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Various writers have considered madness to be a religious experience. On the basis of the literature in the area and conversations with psychiatric patients, it is argued that madness as a religious experience can be viewed as a four-stage developmental process. The four stages are: 1) The hurt-and-be-hurt state of being, 2) The self-induced psychedelic experience, 3) The confusion-and-dread reaction, and 4) The reconstruction-with-insight world view. To clarify how these four stages make up a religious experience, the poet Allen Ginsberg's so-called psychotic episode is organized around each of the stages.