Mysticism and Madness: A Matter of Perspective?
Marilyn Charles
April 28, 2026 DOI: 10.4324/9781032648750-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Wonder Relation database Poetry Distress Meaning existential Epistemology Psychoanalysis Aesthetics |
| Key points | Argues that psychotic symptoms are best understood as narratives of intergenerational trauma and that 'madness' is a socially constructed phenomenon with commonalities to poetic and mystical consciousness. |
Abstract
In contrast to organically driven models of distress and disease, psychoanalysis shows that psychotic symptoms tell a story that cannot otherwise be told. The roots of madness are best understood in relation to the intergenerational transmission of trauma that impedes development in spite of otherwise good parenting. Such data invite us to consider ‘madness’ as a socially constructed phenomenon, driven by the desire to avoid facing difficult truths. Meanings are inevitably contextual. Qualities considered problematic through a medical model lens are prized by other cultures as extraordinary. Studies suggest commonalities between aspects of psychotic experience and poetic and mystical consciousness. The chapter will consider commonalities and distinctions between qualities of experiences deemed psychotic or mystical to try and make sense of ways in which a person’s culture can either contain and sustain the individual or, alternatively, literally alien-ate them in ways that drive them mad. We can wonder how the limits in understanding on the part of those who make decisions about such meanings further alienate us all from qualities that have deep and profound social and human value, and therefore, from ourselves and one another.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |