The Meaning of Madness (Ataraxia)

Review
★★★★★ Eminently readable and accessible ... I found it incredibly fascinating. --Jamie Bee, Amazon.com Top 50 Reviewer
I've read many Neel Burton books. He's a wonderful writer and able to immerse you lightly in pretty heavy stuff. --Adrian Bailey, Vine Voice
Burton's writing blends deep knowledge of his subject with lively anecdote and a genuine concern for how we might draw on the insights of psychology and philosophy to live a better life. Highly recommended! --Gareth Southwell, philosopher and writer
Neel Burton succeeds brilliantly, not only in explaining different types of mental illness in simple terms, but also in the breadth of understanding he brings to aspects of life outside the mental straitjacket. --British Medical Association Book Awards
This remarkable book provides a highly readable and at the same time authoritative account that by combining literary and scientific sources shows the deep connections between madness and some of our most important attributes as human beings. --Prof Bill Fulford, University of Oxford
The mad genius, the cracked shaman, the successful psychopath… What if mental disorder were a double-edged sword?
This award-winning book, written by a psychiatrist and philosopher, aims to open up the debate on mental disorders, to get people interested and talking, and to get them thinking.
For example, what is schizophrenia? Why is it so common? Why does it affect human beings but not other animals? What might this tell us about our mind and body, language and creativity, music and religion? What are the boundaries between mental disorder and 'normality'? Is there a relationship between mental disorder and genius?
These are some of the difficult but important questions that this book confronts, with the overarching aim of exploring what mental disorders can teach us about human nature and the human condition.
Areas covered include: personality disorders, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and self-harm and suicide.
A really accessible and thorough approach to a complex and often impenetrable subject. —British Neuroscience Association
Ultimately, this is a work of contradictions, an undemanding read that could challenge your view of the world. —Medical Journalists' Association
Neel Burton succeeds brilliantly, not only in explaining different types of mental illness in simple terms, but also in the breadth of understanding he brings to aspects of life outside the mental straitjacket. —British Medical Association Book Awards (Winner, Young Authors' Award)
This remarkable book provides a highly readable and at the same time authoritative account that by combining literary and scientific sources shows the deep connections between madness and some of our most important attributes as human beings. —Prof Bill Fulford, University of Oxford
★★★★★ Eminently readable and accessible ... I found it incredibly fascinating. —Jamie Bee, Amazon.com Top 50 Reviewer
Burton guides the reader to unlearn, rediscover, and return to wholeness. It is a journey out of Plato's cave... —The International Review of Books
Burton is never short of an interesting and sharp judgment. —Prof Peter Toohey, Psychology Today
I've read many Neel Burton books. He's a wonderful writer and able to immerse you lightly in pretty heavy stuff. —Adrian Bailey, Vine Voice
Neel is an incredibly insightful and elegant writer, with a deep knowledge of all he surveys. —Dr James Davies, medical anthropologist and psychotherapist, author of Cracked
About the author
Dr Neel Burton FRSA is a psychiatrist, philosopher, and wine-lover who lives and teaches in Oxford, England. He is a Fellow of Green-Templeton College in the University of Oxford, and the recipient of the Society of Authors’ Richard Asher Prize, the British Medical Association’s Young Authors’ Award, the Medical Journalists’ Association Open Book Award, and a Best in the World Gourmand Award. His