Discussion Club: What Do We Owe The Mystics? By Awais Aftab

Join Evan and Jeff in an discussion about an article exploring to what degree should a psychologist respect the beliefs of those in the midst of a psychotic episode. The article, What Do We Owe The Mystics?, by psychiatrist and professor Awais Aftab can be found on his blog Psychiatry at the Margins.

The discussion will be held at Menil park so bring something to sit on, something to drink, and a snack if you want.

An excerpt from the article, "Saville-Smith frames the clinical encounter as a kind of epistemological tribunal. The patient, in a seemingly acute psychotic or manic state but also amidst a profound religious experience, is asked to give a rational account of themselves. They are expected to articulate, coherently and in words, an experience that is overwhelming and beyond language. As the psychiatrist observes for the behavioral markers of pathology, the very act of trying to communicate the ineffable in a setting designed to assess rationality inevitably produces the appearance of irrationality."