98. Does Mental 'Illness' Have a Purpose or Function? Madness as an Adaptive Strategy with Justin Garson

“I wish somebody had presented these ideas that what we call mental disorders, they're not like diabetes. They're not like cancer. They're more like fever or pain. They're meaningful responses to something going on in your life. And they are part of your inner self trying to tell you to look more closely.” - Justin Garson

If you’ve ever felt as though there may be a purpose or function to the experiences that get labeled as a ‘mental illness’, you’re not alone. Justin Garson spent his career advocating for the idea that madness should not be seen as purely dysfunctional, but rather that it can be an evolved signal or feature with a purpose in our lives. Rather than being a sign of a ‘broken brain’, madness may play an important protective or illuminating role in our lives.

In this episode we discuss:

• The 1980s prozac revolution & changing landscape of mental health
• Why viewing madness as a dysfunction is so ubiquitous
• How depression or other mental health concerns can be an evolved signal or designed response to a life crisis
• Who gets to decide what’s functional or dysfunctional?
• The importance of alternative frameworks
• Meaningful pluralism

Bio

Justin is Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, and a contributor for PsychologyToday.com, Aeon, and MadInAmerica.com. He writes on the philosophy of madness, evolution of the mind, and purpose in nature. He is the author of The Madness Pill: The Quest to Create Insanity and One Doctor’s Discovery that Transformed Psychiatry (St. Martin’s Press, forthcoming). He also has two recent books: Madness: A Philosophical Exploration (Oxford University Press, 2022) and The Biological Mind: A Philosophical Introduction, 2nd ed. (Routledge, 2022).

Links:

• Website: www.justingarson.com
• Twitter: https://x.com/justin_garson
• Recent Book: Madness: A Philosophical Exploration
• Madness-as-Strategy as an Alternative to Psychiatry’s Dysfunction-Centered Model

Resources:

• Get videos and bonus episodes: ⁠DEPTHWORK.SUBSTACK.COM⁠
• Get the book: ⁠⁠Mad Studies Reader: Interdisciplinary Innovations in Mental Health⁠
• Become a member: ⁠The Institute for the Development of Human Arts⁠
• Train with us: ⁠Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as