Into the Deep End: From Madness-as-Strategy to Madness-as-Right
A central notion in Mad Pride activism is that “madness is a natural reaction” (Curtis et al. 2000, 22). In Madness: A Philosophical Exploration (2022), Justin Garson provides a compelling exploration and defence of this idea through the book’s central concept: madness-as-strategy, i.e., the view of...
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University of Rijeka. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
2025-01-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Analytic Philosophy |
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| Online Access: | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/478932 |
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| author | Miguel Núñez de Prado-Gordillo |
| author_facet | Miguel Núñez de Prado-Gordillo |
| author_sort | Miguel Núñez de Prado-Gordillo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A central notion in Mad Pride activism is that “madness is a natural reaction” (Curtis et al. 2000, 22). In Madness: A Philosophical Exploration (2022), Justin Garson provides a compelling exploration and defence of this idea through the book’s central concept: madness-as-strategy, i.e., the view of madness as “a well- oiled machine, one in which all of the components work exactly as they ought” (1). This contrasts with the dominant view in 20th- and 21st-century psychiatry, madness-as-dysfunction, which understands madness as a failure of function. The paper provides a critical analysis of the notion of madness-as-strategy as a political tool, pointing out its main virtues and limitations in terms of Garson’s overarching political project: to carve out the conceptual landscape of madness in ways that pay tribute to mad people’s own perspectives. The analysis draws on two central commitments of contemporary neurodiversity theory: a) its relational-ecological model of cognitive (dis)ability; and b) its non-essentialist, sociopolitical critique of the “normalcy paradigm”. I argue that these two insights contribute to both expand the applicability of madness- as-strategy and highlight its limitations as a tool for the political struggles of mad, cognitively divergent, and mentally ill or disabled people. The paper concludes by outlining a way to move beyond both madness-as-dysfunction and madness-as-strategy, toward what I call madness-as-right. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fbf9323e978c40b092b7d54d1afc9a8a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1845-8475 1849-0514 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | University of Rijeka. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Analytic Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj-art-fbf9323e978c40b092b7d54d1afc9a8a2025-08-20T03:48:27ZengUniversity of Rijeka. Faculty of Humanities and Social SciencesEuropean Journal of Analytic Philosophy1845-84751849-05142025-01-0121213315210.31820/ejap.21.2.3Into the Deep End: From Madness-as-Strategy to Madness-as-RightMiguel Núñez de Prado-Gordillo0University of Rijeka, CroatiaA central notion in Mad Pride activism is that “madness is a natural reaction” (Curtis et al. 2000, 22). In Madness: A Philosophical Exploration (2022), Justin Garson provides a compelling exploration and defence of this idea through the book’s central concept: madness-as-strategy, i.e., the view of madness as “a well- oiled machine, one in which all of the components work exactly as they ought” (1). This contrasts with the dominant view in 20th- and 21st-century psychiatry, madness-as-dysfunction, which understands madness as a failure of function. The paper provides a critical analysis of the notion of madness-as-strategy as a political tool, pointing out its main virtues and limitations in terms of Garson’s overarching political project: to carve out the conceptual landscape of madness in ways that pay tribute to mad people’s own perspectives. The analysis draws on two central commitments of contemporary neurodiversity theory: a) its relational-ecological model of cognitive (dis)ability; and b) its non-essentialist, sociopolitical critique of the “normalcy paradigm”. I argue that these two insights contribute to both expand the applicability of madness- as-strategy and highlight its limitations as a tool for the political struggles of mad, cognitively divergent, and mentally ill or disabled people. The paper concludes by outlining a way to move beyond both madness-as-dysfunction and madness-as-strategy, toward what I call madness-as-right.https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/478932philosophy of psychiatryconceptual explicationmad studiesneurodiversity paradigmmadness-as-dysfunction |
| spellingShingle | Miguel Núñez de Prado-Gordillo Into the Deep End: From Madness-as-Strategy to Madness-as-Right European Journal of Analytic Philosophy philosophy of psychiatry conceptual explication mad studies neurodiversity paradigm madness-as-dysfunction |
| title | Into the Deep End: From Madness-as-Strategy to Madness-as-Right |
| title_full | Into the Deep End: From Madness-as-Strategy to Madness-as-Right |
| title_fullStr | Into the Deep End: From Madness-as-Strategy to Madness-as-Right |
| title_full_unstemmed | Into the Deep End: From Madness-as-Strategy to Madness-as-Right |
| title_short | Into the Deep End: From Madness-as-Strategy to Madness-as-Right |
| title_sort | into the deep end from madness as strategy to madness as right |
| topic | philosophy of psychiatry conceptual explication mad studies neurodiversity paradigm madness-as-dysfunction |
| url | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/478932 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT miguelnunezdepradogordillo intothedeependfrommadnessasstrategytomadnessasright |