Today most of us accept the consensus view that madness is a medical condition, caused by disorders of the brain that can be identified, classified and treated with drugs. But what if this assumption is wrong? What if it is not so easy to decide who is sane and who is insane?
 
In this ground-breaking and controversial work Richard Bentall shatters the modern myths that surround madness, showing that there is no clear, reassuring dividing line between mental health and mental illness. He demonstrates that labels such as ‘schizophrenia’ and ‘manic depression’ are meaningless, based on nineteenth-century classifications which modern research has shown to have no scientific value. Moreover, psychotic symptoms cannot be reduced to brain dysfunction, but instead can only be understood in terms of psychological mechanisms that are part of normal human nature. Experiences such as delusional beliefs and hearing voices are in fact exaggerations of mental foibles to which we are all vulnerable, and in some cultures are not seen as abnormal at all.

What we need, Bentall argues, is a radically new way of thinking about madness and its treatment. Gathering together strands of research from a wide range of disciplines – psychology, sociology, anthropology and the neurosciences – he shows how it is possible to arrive at a ‘joined-up’ understanding of psychiatric problems, which take into account both biological processes and environmental factors.

His analysis suggests that we need a major shift in society’s attitude towards unusual behaviours and experiences. We need to accept that some people can live healthy, productive lives while experiencing a degree of psychosis. At the same time we must reject mental healthcare services that dehumanize patients and deny them a voice. The fear of madness, Bentall concludes, may in fact be a much greater problem than madness itself.