BMJ review

Records of people experiencing verbal hallucinations or hearing voices can be found throughout history. Voices of Reason, Voices of Insanity traces such reports through almost 2,800 years in order to understand the experience and look at ways in which its meaning has changed or remained the same. Through six cases of historical and contemporary voice hearers, Leudar and Thomas demonstrate how the experience has metamorphosed from being a sign of virtue to a sign of insanity, signalling such illnesses as schizophrenia or dissociation. They argue that the experience is interpreted by the voice hearer according to cultural expectations conveyed through language, and is therefore best studied as a matter of language use. Controversially, they conclude that hearing voices is an ordinary human experience which is unfortunately either mystified or pathologised. Voices of Reason, Voices of Insanity offers a fresh perspective on this enigmatic experience and will be of interest to students, researchers and professionals.

The Daemon of Socrates. The Gods of Achilles. The Souls of Daniel Paul Schreber. Pierre Janet on Verbal Hallucinations: The Case of Marcelle. Pragmatists on Self. Verbal Hallucinations in Contemporary Psychiatry. Working with Voices. The Frenzy of Anthony Smith: Hearing Voices in English National Newspapers. Voice-talk. Conclusion.

Published by Routledge
Forthcoming from Routledge/ Psychology Press

Order Form