Topic:	Schizophrenia and the Mind
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Guest:	John Campbell; Willis S. and Marion Slusser Professor of Philosophy; University of California, Berkeley
What is it?	To be human, philosophers have often said, is to be rational.  But many people, for biological reasons, are clearly not rational.  Schizophrenia is not only a malady, it is also a window on how the human mind works, and what it means to be human.  Ken and John examine schizophrenia and its lessons for philosophers with John Campbell from UC Berkeley, author of Reference and Consciousness.

Listening Notes

Undoubtedly, schizophrenia is an awful disease, one which afflicts approximately one out of every two hundred people—it is well-known for its ability to ruin the life of its victims, as well as their families. And its unique symptoms certainly make it an important subject for medical investigation. But, despite all this, it may not be immediately apparent why schizophrenia also demands philosophical investigation. One might wonder: What issues, if any, in the philosophy of mind could this tragically real disorder possibly raise? John and Ken begin the show by answering just this question, pointing out two undeniably philosophical puzzles connected to schizophrenia. John Campbell joins the conversation to help explore these puzzles.

First puzzle: Schizophrenics famously hallucinate. Anyone who has seen A Beautiful Mind may believe that these hallucinations are full-fledged intrusions into the visual-auditory object space. Of course, that film exaggerates, but the truth is no less scary. One of the most commonly described symptoms of schizophrenia is ‘intrusive thoughts,’ feeling like other people are placing thoughts into your head that are not your own. But how is it even possible for our minds to have the thoughts of other minds. John points out that we all have thoughts that ‘pop into our head unbidden,’ so what is the difference between inspiration and schizophrenia?  Campbell responds that inspiration may seem unbidden, but it still feels like a thought from within our own mind, an organic outgrowth of our past thoughts and experiences, whereas the schizophrenic has no sense that the thought has any natural origin from within their mind.

Second puzzle: Schizophrenics often refuse to take their medication, since they feel that the medication ‘destroys their soul.’ But the medication, when taken properly, clearly results in improvements in the condition, and can even allow schizophrenics to live fairly normal lives. Ethically, should we force them to take their medication? In fairness, we force children and elderly patients to take medication against their will all the time. And that seems clearly ethical. The law seems to base the decision on the rationality of the patient. So, perhaps it is ethical for us to force schizophrenics to take medication because they are irrational? But, as Campbell argues, by most philosophical accounts of rationality, schizophrenics are perfectly rational given their accepted beliefs: “Once you accept that, say your next-door neighbor, has the capacity to insert thoughts into your head by means of the wiring in your house, what is it rational for you to think next?”

• Roving Philosophical Reporter (seek to 5:45): Rina Palta sheds some light on ‘what it is like’ to live with schizophrenia. She interviews Thomas Jefferson, a San Franciscan who struggles to cope with Schizophrenia. He describes the experience of a psychotic episode as “very loud, like in a war movie, hecka bombs going off … like in a football stadium, people screaming, like demons, all coming at you.” But there is hope for victims—Thomas Jefferson sees the diagnosis and treatment as a step towards being able to live a normal life.

• 60-Second Philosopher (seek to 49:25): ‘Hip’ books of today seem to be concerned with external issues, global warming, international business, etc.. One of the more ‘internal’ hip books of Shoales’ youth was R. D. Lang’s The Politics of Experience. Shoales: “Lang viewed schizophrenia as a potentially transformative experience. The schizophrenic is reacting to an insane world. The shrink should not be so much a healer, as a shaman, guiding the client through a spiritual journey to find his or her ‘authentic’ self.”

Additional Resources

• Campbell, John (2002). Reference and Consciousness.

• Laing, R. D. (1967). The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise.

• NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) - Schizophrenia
  

• NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) - Schizophrenia
  

• Perring, C. (2001). “Mental Illness.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.