R.D. Laing on Insanity

[goldenmyst]

Who is more dangerous? The man who thinks he has a hydrogen bomb in his stomach? Or the pilot who flies a plane carrying a real hydrogen bomb? This was a question posed by R.D. Laing. Food for thought.

John

[Volkov]

Isn't insanity a legal term anyway? I prefer to think that mental illness is just that, an illness, to be diagnosed and treated. Some mentally ill people may pose a danger to themselves or society, and should probably be kept away someplace where they cannot cause harm, at least until their illness is under control.

As to the man who flies around with a Hydrogen bomb... he is presumably in full control of himself and the aircraft, and only presents a danger if he is ordered by the leader of the nation to arm the bomb and drop it somewhere. Otherwise the bomb is just so much dead weight, carried by the aircraft. In short, I am not worried about the man who flies the plane that carries the bomb, I am worried about the man who can give orders to the man who flies the plane. Nuclear weapons are actually very safe, until armed. That is no accident, because no one wants a nuke going off anywhere it's not "supposed" too. The US and other nuclear powers have invested millions of dollars in ensuring their nuclear weapons only go off when they want them too. Besides, nuclear weapons are so finicky, it's hard to get them to go off in the first place, even when you want them too.

[Wylde]

john - im a great disciple of laing and burke, another psychiatrist who worked closely with laing in the field of anti-psychiatry.


his actual quote is:


"A little girl of seventeen in a mental hospital told me she was terrified because the Atom Bomb was inside her. That is a delusion. The statesmen of the world who boast and threaten that they have Doomsday weapons are far more dangerous, and far more estranged from 'reality' than many of the people on whom the label 'psychotic' is affixed."


i love this other quote of his:


"Long before a thermonuclear war can come about, we have had to lay waste to our own sanity. We begin with the children. It is imperative to catch them in time. Without the most thorough and rapid brain-washing their dirty minds would see through our dirty tricks. Children are not yet fools, but we shall turn them into imbeciles like ourselves, with high I.Q.s if possible."


we see more and more of those children today as imbecile adults with high I.Q.s ! lol

[JS KABEL]

I expect his best know quote was “ Life is a sexually transmitted disease” and in his case that seems appropriate.

[Wylde]

and clearly some others too....


whats your beef with him js?

[Volkov]

I expect his best know quote was “ Life is a sexually transmitted disease” and in his case that seems appropriate.

I like that quote. I've even expanded upon it. "Life is a sexually transmitted disease with a 100% mortality rate". Though that probably isn't unique to me.

"A little girl of seventeen in a mental hospital told me she was terrified because the Atom Bomb was inside her. That is a delusion. The statesmen of the world who boast and threaten that they have Doomsday weapons are far more dangerous, and far more estranged from 'reality' than many of the people on whom the label 'psychotic' is affixed."

Heh, I paraphrased Laing without even knowing it.

[Wylde]

for those ignorant about laing, but truly interested in him:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._D._Laing