Critical Madness Theory : a Way of Interpreting Irrational Behavior as Political Action

This book offers an original philosophy "Critical Madness Theory" that discusses how social justice for the mad can be accomplished without stigmatization and marginalization. It offers new theories of continental European thought and answers the questions of how there can be political action in a postmodern era. This book was an attempt to create a totally unique philosophy utilizing continental thinking. The goal was to wed postmodernism, which has fallen out of fashion due to what constitutes a total misunderstanding of its main concepts, with canonical philosophers in the continental tradition, namely Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx, and Heidegger. The philosophers whose work I utilized as exemplary of postmodernism, and mind you, they sometimes dismiss this classification due to its misuse, are Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Jean-Francois Lyotard, Jacques Derrida, Judith Butler, and Felix Guattari. The overarching concern of this book is to view irrationalism in their work as a method of political agency, which I backed up with field observations in local bi-polar support groups in the Binghamton area. The point was to fuse continental philosophy with real therapeutic praxis, which culminates in an aesthetic conception of living, and ethics, which I view as ongoing processes that change as times change. The theme that runs through the whole book is a certain material-mortal approach to death whereby the extremely miniscule time one has to live, if examined authentically, compels the subject to take political and ethical actions, precisely because life will appear precious, and that this approach to death has a radically therapeutic effect on some people. In philosophical and economic traditions it is common place to discuss agency as rational and self-interested. This book examines how therapeutic practices in bi-polar support groups actually contradict this baseline presupposition. Can irrational people whose behavior does not correspond to their own personal interests be viewed as political agents, and this book argues yes. How does the madness inherent in mental illness factor into political organizing in radical groups like anarchists, and how can a new existential-phenomenological philosophy, which Dr. Kaye creates, help us to better understand grassroots organizing. The chapters progress from a discussion of transversality as the panacea to disciplinary power, which opens up agency, on to a discussion of existential-phenomenological intentions. It then moves to advocacy for this new philosophical system. It finishes in the final chapter on the art of living. The main goal of the book is to advocate for a new, postmodern view of political agency by looking at how it relates to previous incarnations of modernism from continental philosophy from Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, onwards to contemporary postmodern theories by thinkers ranging from Deleuze, Foucault, Derrida, Lyotard, and Butler. This book was an attempt to create a totally unique philosophy utilizing continental thinking. The goal was to wed postmodernism, which has fallen out of fashion due to what constitutes a total misunderstanding of its main concepts, with canonical philosophers in the continental tradition, namely Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx, and Heidegger. The philosophers whose work I utilized as exemplary of postmodernism, and mind you, they sometimes dismiss this classification due to its misuse, are Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Jean-Francois Lyotard, Jacques Derrida, Judith Butler, and Felix Guattari. The overarching concern of this book is to view irrationalism in their work as a method of political agency, which I backed up with field observations in local bi-polar support groups in the Binghamton area. The point was to fuse continental philosophy with real therapeutic praxis, which culminates in an aesthetic conception of living, and ethics, which I view as ongoing processes that change as times change. The theme that runs through the whole book is a certain material-mortal approach to death whereby the extremely miniscule time one has to live, if examined authentically, compels the subject to take political and ethical actions, precisely because life will appear precious, and that this approach to death has a radically therapeutic effect on some people. Reviews Dr. Kayes interlocutory style is not merely requesting but expecting his readers to do politicized, socio-emotional work, again, and again, always on ethical grounds. Prof. Diane Wiener, Syracuse University Dr. Bradley Francis Kaye is a young theoretical philosopher with a fresh theory of madness, for which his first book is a prolegomenon to a new phenomenology, rich and edifying. Great are the philosophical progenitors of phenomenology who have built a rigorous method for a science beyond the limits of positivism and psychologism, as Kant, Hegel, Marx, Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre have each done in his own way. Having set their sights primarily on rationality, they have only partially illuminated the variety of self-inflicted malaises, from the unhappy consciousness, or alienation, of Hegel and Marx, to Sartres bad faith, without offering a full phenomenological reduction (in the e.g. Husserlian mode) to expose irrationality and madness in terms of intentionality. Bradley Francis Kaye is fully and humbly aware that he has not finished the job: This project is a prolegomena toward building a discourse that would seek to empower people to feel the insurgent possibilities inherent in the abnormal existential-phenomenological intentions. What Dr. Kaye has accomplished, by my lights better than any other philosopher writing on this side of the Atlantic, is the sorely needed first opening salvo. Just as Sartre shows how we can become mad in order to turn our illness into a weapon, Dr. Kaye shows madness as political action. Right on! Prof. Daniel Kolak, William Paterson University Bradley Kaye gives us a striking synthesis of psychological and philosophical insight. He brings his critical studies of recent Continental thought the ideas of Foucault, Deleuze, Derrida, and others to bear upon concrete issues of psychotherapeutic practice. Kayes experience as both a philosopher and participant in community bipolarity support groups makes him uniquely qualified to carry out this important mission. He breaks new ground concerning the nature of mental illness as well as the forms of therapeutic practice likely to achieve success in our own postmodern times, and in doing so he draws out the surprising yet cogent political implications of his entire approach. This is a book that should be read by philosophers, psychologists, and political activists alike. Prof. Donald Weiss, Binghamton University Content: CRITICAL MADNESS THEORY: A Way of Interpreting Irrational Behavior as Political Action Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Foreword Preface Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3a Chapter 3b Chapter 4 Conclusion Works Cited Index. Discusses how social justice for the mad can be accomplished without stigmatization and marginalization. This title offers theories of continental European thought and answers the questions of how there can be political action in a postmodern era