The voices of madness
Terrain January 1, 2022 T. M. Luhrmann 1 citation
The phenomenology of psychosis is notoriously difficult to grasp. This paper presents a case study of psychotic voices in which neither words nor voice proper figures prominently. It reflects on the strangeness of these experiences and points to central features of voice-hearing: not-me-ness, a different realness, and presence. When madness begins, it can feel like grace or art, making the dull everyday become iridescent; people sense wild swans, floating angels, and other phenomena.