The Divided Self
by R. D. Laing · first published 1959
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A dense but fascinating examination of schizoid experience and the edges of sanity, describing the human condition from the inside and deepening understanding of mental experience.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
First published in 1960, this watershed work aimed to make madness comprehensible, and in doing so revolutionized the way we perceive mental illness. Using case studies of patients he had worked with, psychiatrist R. D. Laing argued that psychosis is not a medical condition but an outcome of the 'divided self', or the tension between the two personas within us: one our authentic, private identity, and the other the false, 'sane' self that we present to the world.
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…more profoundly through nonfiction than through fiction? I think it's actually quite insightful to understand that. Find me a fiction book more profoundly descriptive of the human condition than The Divided Self by RD Laing.
on “The Way I Work: Jason Fried of 37Signals” ↗…explore the human condition deeper and more profoundly through nonfiction than through fiction? It's not a contest. Find me a fiction book more profoundly descriptive of the human condition than The Divided Self by RD Laing. You don't believe his book is an exploration of his own personal perspective on reality and meaning?
on “The Way I Work: Jason Fried of 37Signals” ↗Reading RD Laing was an important experience for me. I recommend the Divided Self, the Politics of Experience, and The Politics of the Family for others trying to work through their low points. If you want a sense of what the guy was like, here's a short 3 min video titled "Forgetting…
on “Breakdown Palace: R.D. Laing’s radical asylum” ↗…Jaynes, Julian - Origin Of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind, The Kerouac, Jack - On The Road Kidd, David - All The Emperor’s Horses Koestler, Arthur - Darkness At Noon Laing, R. D. - Divided Self, The Di Lampedusa, Giusseppe - Leopard, The Larson, Nella - Passing Lautréamont, Comte de - Maldodor Lawrence, D.H. - Lady Chatterly’s Lover Lebowitz, Fran - Metropolitan Life Lévi, Eliphas - Transcendental…
on “David Bowie’s Top 100 Books (2013)” ↗The Divided Self (R. D. Laing). Bit dense at times, and perhaps not relevant to many on HN, but a truly fascinating examination of the edges of sanity.
on “Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?” ↗Short r.d. laing video on people getting out of their depressions/predicaments / just being OK again. I read his books (divided self is my favorite) after learning about him, they did a lot to my perspective on things https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKOxp2q2lss Sounds like she's sadistically tormenting you... awful. do all you can…
on “A therapist’s guide to staying productive when depressed or heartbroken” ↗The Divided Self + The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise + The Politics of the Family - all by RD Laing Civilization and its Discontents - Freud Capitalist Realism - Mark Fisher Gateless Gate - Mu-men?…
on “Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life?” ↗The Divided Self by RD Laing Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher Pretty much any book by Nassim Taleb, but the Black Swan was my first read of his, and then Antifragile
…patient, curious and open minds can digest and drive science forward at a different level. Another difficult book that complements bicameralism, again by a discredited researcher R.D. Laing, is "The Divided Self" It approaches the experiential modularity of mind from a different perspective, a top-down descent into mental illness, namely schizophrenia. Laing's methods were, to say the least, controversial. Taken…
on “The “bicameral mind” 30 years on (2007)” ↗"The Divided Self" by RD Laing is interesting on this
on “Schizoid Personality Disorder” ↗capitalist realism by mark fisher, the divided self by r.d. laing, and absolute recoil by slavoj zizek, i suppose
on “Ask HN: Where does the evil go?” ↗…things I've run across randomly on the internet (though it turns out to be an excerpt from a book). If you read it, don't bail before you reach the punch line. That the 20-year-old patient had read The Divided Self and specifically asked to be sent to this place indicates how famous Laing was at the peak of his celebrity.
on “Breakdown Palace: R.D. Laing’s radical asylum” ↗…posted recently that didn't get any attention, is https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6713259. Off topic. So, what's the opinion on RD Laing currently in the scientific community? I remember reading "A divided self" and wondering the whole time, is the whole world mad? Or is the author mad? Or is it both?
on “Meet the People Taking over Hacker News” ↗