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The Divided Self

R. D. Laing

1959218 pagesabout 3–5 hours
1959
first published
  • 1960Tavistock Publications · 237 pages · ENG
  • 1960Tavistock · 240 pages · ENG
  • 1969Penguin Books · 218 pages · ENG
  • 1969Tavistock Publications · 237 pages · ENGISBN 9780422705400
  • 1969Pantheon Books · 237 pages · ENG
  • 2010Penguin Group UK · ENGISBN 9780141962085
  • 1965Penguin (Non-Classics) · 224 pages · ENGISBN 9780140135374
  • 1976Penguin Books · 218 pagesISBN 9780140207347

First published in 1960, this watershed work aimed to make madness comprehensible, and in doing so revolutionized the way we perceive mental illness. Using case studies of patients he had worked with, psychiatrist R. D. Laing argued that psychosis is not a medical condition but an outcome of the 'divided self', or the tension between the two personas within us: one our authentic, private identity, and the other the false, 'sane' self that we present to the world.

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