Reddit reviews The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies

I studied the history and development of schizophrenic people in cultures through a lot of books that I checked out and purchased about 20 years ago in an attempt to understand what I am going through.

Things I recall are: Carl Jung's work before the Red Book. I studied everything of his i could get my hands on, including old video interviews with him. I got lucky and downloaded a torrent with his notes and what most of his impressions were. With the release of the Red Book, it became obvious that he dabbled in Alchemy and that coloured his perception of psychology, but does not invalidate it all. Stuck mostly to books I could get for free. Looked at Freud's work. And every other book about psychology or by historical psychologists I could get my hands on in the library.

Then went exploring cultures. Since living in Hawaii where I was exposed to so many different cultures at the same time (189-192 different cultures), I started asking questions of people from different parts of the Pacific Basin, Indian, and Asian cultures, etc. in person. Left with a lot of impressions of this stuff. Most of the more respected "affected" people cultures were behind, at that time, with modernization, or less developed scientifically.

This most likely has changed at least a little in the last 20 years.

Also, if you look through history books, you will see references to this kind of treatment throughout lesser scientifically developed cultures throughout everything I have read. I'm a book worm.

I haven't traveled the world. Most of my learning is from books and the library access of media.

I have read a lot of philosophy, and it is spoken of there as well.

I have been told many religions were started by schizophrenics. Michael Shermer has a really interesting book on this citing many examples I have read recently: The Believing Brain. [Link]

This shows many of the causes of the brain errors and misfires from a lay person scientific point of view. This is why the Western cultures do not respect "affected" people. That affects you socially. There are many credible studies that show problems with the brain I.E. CPTSD, Traumatic Brain Injuries, development, drug use, etc. These effect the brain in different ways. Scientists have been able to treat some of the various ailments with the brain with their meds. It is not perfect yet. The science is new with the brain.

It is my hypothesis that schizophrenia is an all inclusive term used that may cover a broad range of high functioning, defects, injuries, diseases, and maybe evolutionary mutations of the brain that are not understood now.

Many of the classic books that survived were archetypal stories meant convey meaning through allegory. I see these as a lot of what people try to understand when the person starts studying this stuff. It seems that religions and spiritual movements have a monopoly on the vocabulary used to describe this experience that the schizo experiences. Then they try to get you to give them money, etc. Just because one has to use that vocabulary to describe it does not make you religious, in my opinion. Some people call it sacred. Some use it to kill.

Allegory can speak truths, but not scientific truths.

Science will medicate you if you think entirely in allegories, if you cannot control and harness it (Use it secondarily). If you do not live in the real(scientific) world, work, contribute, and build in the real(scientific) world, then you are going to have problems.

What service or product can you provide to the benefit of the community that will further survival? Making a Subway Sandwich to eat or a long pontification on the allegory of Sisyphus? How many people are needed to make convenient subs to feed people to continue building the community? How many people will starve if we all pontificate hours on end on Sisyphus with no subs? Or, farms? Or, computers? Or, infrastructure to access everything needful to survive?

This is how I have put the sources together. Probably pretty messed up. I don't think it is worth all the time I spent reading the many books and interviews I have experienced to understand this. Please do not do this.

You rock!

Check these out:

https://www.amazon.com/Unweaving-Rainbow-Science-Delusion-Appetite/dp/0618056734/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473228711&sr=1-1&keywords=rainbow+richard+dawkins

https://www.amazon.com/Believing-Brain-Ghosts-Politics-Conspiracies/dp/B00BT00I9S/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473228653&sr=1-2&keywords=the+believing+brain+michael+shermer