Strong Imagination: Madness, Creativity, And Human Nature

by Daniel Nettle

Madness is the central mystery of the human psyche. Our minds evolved to give us a faithful understanding of reality, to allow us to integrate into our communities, and to help us to adapt our behaviour to our environment. Yet in serious mental illness, the mind does exactly the opposite of these things. The sufferer builds castles of imaginative delusion, fails to adapt, and becomes a stranger among their own people. Mental illness is no marginal it is found in all societies and all historical epochs, and the genes that underlie it are quite common. Furthermore, the traits that identify the madman are found in attenuated form in normal thinking and feeling. The persistence of madness, then, is a terrible puzzle from both an evolutionary and a human point of view. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare suggested a link between madness and artistic 'The lunatic, the lover, and the poet', he wrote, 'Are of imagination all compact'. Recent studies have shown that there is indeed a connection. Rates of mental illness are hugely elevated in the families of poets, writers, and artists, suggesting that the same genes, the same temperaments, and the same imaginative capacities are at work in insanity and in creative ability. Thus the reason madness continues to exist is that the traits behind it have psychological benefits as well as psychological costs. In Strong Imagination, Daniel Nettle explores the nature of mental illness, the biological mechanisms that underlie it, and its link to creative genius. He goes on to consider the place of both madness and creative imagination in the evolution of our species.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Science

Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Andreea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is interesting mainly because like Freud, it's an example of how literary studies have "seeped" not just or, maybe not necessarily, into science (I like to think that a medical professional would think twice before listening to Mr Nettle*), but into popular knowledge, cultural attitudes towards mental illness and even medical practice (e.g. there are all kinds of art therapies) through the devilish witchcraft that is psychology. The explanations about the biological basis of mental illness are not altogether bad, though, and the history bits are quite interesting as well.


* who says, for example, that the fact that mental illness is partly caused by genes suggests that it has some kind of hidden advantage because otherwise 'natural selection' would have 'eliminated' those genes from the human gene pool. Erm - you know, the same way it's done with all other genes carrying predispositions for dangerous illnesses like diabetes, cancer or coronary heart disease - OH WAIT.

[hayatem · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب يتحدث عن الفراسة وقوة الحدس والثورة التي يمكن أن تحدثها في عالم الإنسان، وأهميتها في إعادة صناعة الحياة بصورة اكثر نجاحا وانسجاما وود.يحتوي على عدة تمارين بسيطة. وقوانين عدة كقانون التفكير\القوة\اليقين\التصور\التماثل.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for psychology majors and those looking inward. Almost gave it 5 stars but it is a little difficult to read for the average person, so 4+ it is. Has clear insights into psychoticism (inherited personality trait that makes one vulnerable to madness whereas psychosis is the actual condition of madness) and the relationship to creativity. Mr. Nettles also reverberated what many of us have been saying for years: we are all capable of good things, creativity and productivity promote positivity, while greed, waste and consumption do not.

[Ina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great info, great central ideas, great writing style.

Although unimportant, I also appreciate the fact that an author named Daniel NETTLE ended his book so elegantly with the saying about the strawberries underneath the NETTLE.
I can't be sure whether it was intentional or not, because the sentence had no relation to the author himself, but at the same time I doubt that the coincidence would have evaded him or his editor completely. Either way, it was a pleasant and attention grabbing way to finish off an otherwise very good text.

[Samah Esawie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a rough journey from 2014 to 2023..
I tried to read this book in 2014, before my mental crisis.. It helped me to diagnose myself even before any doctor I consulted..
I couldn't finish it then.. Tried to read it again and again but in vain..
I postponed reading it after finishing my target in reading for this year to give myself a chance and to take my time reading it..
And,, it is finished
Made me smile sometimes, made me feel pain in other times..
But.. This is who I am.. And I am excited about who I am.. It wasn't easy.. But it was and is still worth it.
Alhamdullah.

[caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating dive into the fuzzy neuroscience of mental illness and a compelling argument for its evolutionary advantages, so to say.. (Even typing the phrase 'evolutionary advantages' gives me the eugenics heebie jeebies) A reading that pairs well with Foucault's Madness and Society if you have any interest on the origins and ethics of modern psychiatry.

[Paige McLoughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

argues that compensating factors like creativity found in relatives from divergent thinking allows genes for Schizophrenia and bipolar disorders to persist even though they are usually debilitating for the sufferer. A little divergent thinking helps, a lot destroys you.

[Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

هذا هو الشيء الذي اريد ان اوضحه حول الاكتئاب.
ليس له علاقه بالحياه . مسيره الحياه فيها الحزن و الاسى مزعجه لكنها طبيعيه. الاكتئاب يوضع في حيز مختلف تماما. (اليزابيث ورتزيل).بتصرف.

[Arnika · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good probably but then again i don’t have much knowledge on schizophrenia to back that claim up

[Faisalsaihan · Rating 1 out of 5]

كتاب ماقبل النوم في اوقات الامتحانات عشان انام بسرعه ☺

[Abdullah Qahtani]

لن أتكلم عن الكتـاب لأنني لم أستطع إكماله بسبب الترجمة المريعـه :)