Category Archives: Nonrational

Conference Presentation: The Secret of Madness: Foucault’s Overarching Nonrational or Le secret de la folie : le nonrational global de Foucault

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I had the opportunity to do a full presentation for the first time at the International Network of Philosophy of Religion hosted in Paris, France on June 16, 2022. The conference is both in French and English so I worked hard to prepare my abstract in French and English. I read my paper in English but read all the quotations in the original French. I practiced before I went to make sure that I pronounced things correctly!

Abstract. In the spirit of our conference, titled, “En commun : Altérité, communauté et solitude,” this paper turns to the darker side of human community, the otherness of community, that can be displayed in cases of madness. To understand this otherness, we must consider the differing ways that historical and modern communities have shaped and responded to madness. It is here that we will uncover the human experience of the nonrational (déraison) lurking behind the narrative of madness. In this paper, I argue that even though madness depends on societal perceptions, there is an overarching nonrational, which cuts across history and remains the secret force behind the differing variations of madness. To make this argument, I will first create the milieu of madness according to three ages of European history as described in Michel Foucault’s History of Madness. Second, I will present the key themes of the overarching nonrational by looking closely at Foucault’s text. And third, I will offer some brief thoughts on how this approach can be applied to our view of mental illness today.

Le secret de la folie : la déraison globale de Foucault

L’abstrait. Dans l’esprit de notre conférence, intitulée, <<En commun : Altérité, communauté et solitude>>, ce papier se penche sur le côté sombre de la communauté humaine, l’altérité de la communauté, qui peut être affichée dans les cas de folie. Pour comprendre cette altérité, nous devons réfléchir aux différentes manières dont les communautés historique et moderne ont fabriqué et répondu à la folie. C’est là que nous découvrirons l’expérience humaine de la déraison (nonrational) tapie derrière le narratif de la folie. Dans ce papier, je soutiens que bien que la folie dépende des perceptions sociétales, il y a une déraison globale, qui traverse l’histoire et reste la force secrète derrière les variantes différentes de la folie. Pour le démontrer, je présenterai tout d’abord le milieu de la folie selon les trois âges de l’histoire européenne tels que décrits Histoire de la folie à l’âge classique de Michel Foucault. Ensuite, j’exposerai les thèmes importants de la déraison globale en examinant de près le texte de Foucault. Et enfin, j’offrirai quelques petites réflexions sur comment l’approche peut être appliquée à notre vision de la maladie mentale aujourd’hui. 

Book Sent to Press: Madness in Experience and History

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My book has been sent to press! You can actually pre-order it now through Routledge and even Amazon. It is so exciting to see this come to fruition!

Title: Madness in Experience and History: Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology and Foucault’s Archaeology

Back of the Book Blurb:

Madness in Experience and History brings together experience and history to show their impact on madness or mental illness. 

Drawing on the writings of two 20th century French philosophers, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Michel Foucault, the author pairs a phenomenological approach with an archaeological approach to present a new perspective on mental illness as an experience that arises out of common behavioral patterns and shared historical structures. Many today feel frustrated with the medical model because of its deficiencies in explaining mental illness. In response, the author argues that we must integrate human experiences of mental disorders with the history of mental disorders to have a full account of mental health and to make possible a more holistic care.

Scholars in the humanities and mental health practitioners will appreciate how such an analysis not only offers a greater understanding of mental health, but also a fresh take on discovering value in diverse human experiences.

Article Published: The Carnival of the Mad: Foucault’s Window into the Origin of Psychology

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I am happy to announce that my article “The Carnival of the Mad: Foucault’s Window into the Origin of Psychology” has just been published in the journal Foucault Studies. This article was extremely time intensive due to the research required, including translating sections of books and articles from French to English. It was also challenging because I had to obtain permission to use the rare photos of Foucault at the carnival in the article. I am so happy that it has been completed! You can see the official post here (where you can read it online or download it).

I have also put it below to download for easy access.

The Carnival of the Mad: Foucault’s Window into the Origin of Psychology by Hannah Lyn VenableDownload

If you have felt concern about the motivations and goals of modern psychology, this is for you! It also gives you a glimpse into the history behind the use of some mental health medications.

Here is the abstract:

Foucault’s participation in the 1954 carnival of the mad at an asylum in Switzerland marked the beginning of his critical reflections on the origins of psychology. The event revealed a paradox at the heart of psychology to Foucault, for here was an asylum known for its progressive method and groundbreaking scientific research that was somehow still exhibiting traces of a medieval conception of madness. Using the cultural expression of this carnival as a starting place, this paper goes beyond carnival costumes to uncover the historical structures underneath the discipline of modern psychology. Drawing on Foucault’s earliest works in psychology, his 1954 Mental Illness and Personality, his 1954 “Dream, Existence and Imagination,” his 1957 “Scientific Research and Psychology” and briefly his 1961 History of Madness, I will describe the discrepancy between the theory of modern psychology, which finds its heritage in the methods of modern science, and the practice of modern psychology, which finds its heritage in the classical age. I will argue that this division helps make sense of unexplained psychological phenomena, as seen in general practices related to artistic expression, and individual experiences, as seen in the presence of guilt and the resistance to medical diagnosis in patients.

Abstract for At the Opening of Madness: An Exploration of the Nonrational with Merleau-Ponty, Foucault and Kierkegaard

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(This abstract was accepted by the North Texas Philosophical Society for the 2018 Conference which will be taking place in Dallas, Texas, March 30-31, 2018. I will be presenting a paper based on this abstract. I am honored to be accepted and eagerly anticipating the conference.)

This paper offers the beginnings of a taxonomy of madness through the analysis of three different approaches, the phenomenological, the historical-structural and the existential-religious. Rather than seeing madness as closed off to human understanding, I argue that insight into madness exposes the diverse forms of the nonrational, which I define as the pre-rational, the irrational and the supra-rational. Each of the forms reveals the reliance on the nonrational in several areas of the human condition including expressions of mental disorders, dynamic structures of society and experiences of extreme faith.