Richard Saville-Smith - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Richard Saville-Smith

This is a flyer which includes a 20% discount code for the new paperback version of Acute Religio... more This is a flyer which includes a 20% discount code for the new paperback version of Acute Religious Experiences - valid on the Bloomsbury.com site

This is a paper I gave at the European Association of Biblical Studies on 17th July 2024. The 20t... more This is a paper I gave at the European Association of Biblical Studies on 17th July 2024. The 20th century saw conflict between the upstart discipline of psychiatry which sought to render Jesus mad to destroy Christianity. In the 21st century psychiatrists are a little more chilled out. But I am not persuaded that Biblical Scholars have recovered enough to think about how psychiatry might assist their work. In this paper I draw attention to the two episodes where Jesus saw visions and heard voice (at the baptism and the transfiguration) and show how these two events can be read as key pivots in Jesus life.

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

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This is an abstract for a the Institute of Medical Ethics conference in June 2016. It is an accou... more This is an abstract for a the Institute of Medical Ethics conference in June 2016. It is an account of my fun experience with the NHS ethics committee. There are lessons to be learned, including some by me.

Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religion (JBASR), Feb 16, 2017

Psychiatry and Religious Studies have common interests in extreme and extraordinary states when a... more Psychiatry and Religious Studies have common interests in extreme and extraordinary states when articulated in the languages of religions. For Religious Studies the problems with the category of religious experience are philosophical and profound; whilst the resurgence of interest in religion by psychiatrists (three metaanalyses in the past five years) has not repaired the damaging legacy of reductionist interpretations. In this paper I adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the religious experience discourse. From psychiatry I apply the new idea of Disruption, which makes its first appearance in the US psychiatric textbook DSM-5 (APA, 2013); and the older Biopsychosocial model (Engel, 1977). From Physiology I apply the language of 'ictal' (Adachi, 2002, 2010) to privilege a dynamic idea of time. These concepts involve particular epistemological presuppositions and, as this is an interdisciplinary, rather than a multidisciplinary contribution, these will be critically developed. The approach I propose provides a way of holistically addressing the categories of Mysticism, Possession and Altered States of Consciousness, as acute or extreme categories of experience. I propose that the idea of 'Disruption' can act as a preinterpretive placeholder for a real existential experience which might (or might not) result in a non-pathological diagnosis of religious experience. The outcome depends on the socialisation of interpretation. I hope to show that the idea that there might be alternative interpretations removes the need for a sui generis defence of religious experience. By insisting on a biopsychosocial approach within an ictal framework, a way beyond the linguistic impasse of interpretation is proposed; the essentialism, implicit in the mysticism discourse, is questioned; and the non-medicalisation of Possession confirmed. The limitations of this paper point to the opportunity for further conversations between interested parties, including people with experiences of Disruption.

This is a paper I gave on the Celtic festivals, as a way of thinking about the cognitive/affectiv... more This is a paper I gave on the Celtic festivals, as a way of thinking about the cognitive/affective experience of time as a cultural phenomena, to the European Association for the Study of Religions conference at Cork on 29th June 2022

Here's the abstract for a presentation accepted for the EASR* 2022 conference in Cork *European ... more Here's the abstract for a presentation accepted for the EASR* 2022 conference in Cork

*European Association for the Study of Religions

The Expository Times, 2014

This is a paper I gave to the New Polis conference at the University of Denver by Zoom on 16th Ap... more This is a paper I gave to the New Polis conference at the University of Denver by Zoom on 16th April 2021. https://thenewpolis.com/2021/03/22/decoloniality-and-disintegration-of-western-cognitive-empire-rethinking-sovereignty-and-territoriality-in-the-21st-century-international-conference-program/ Here is the video with powerpoint slides https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkeL60bk-g8
In this paper I identify two problems:
1. The way the language and history of colonialism make the question of the colonial status of Scotland contentious. In histories of empire (including postcolonial histories) the role of incorporating Union of 1707 tends to be treated as a Scottish problem rather than part of a global analysis. By contrast, in histories of Scotland the geopolitical context can be overwhelmed by the detail and the who, what and when, which can obscure the why and the colonial context.
2. The problem of collusion and its implications for colonial/decolonial/postcolonial studies. I show how approaches to competitive oppression, based on anachronistic readings of history, perpetuate the tactic of divide and rule - so effectively applied by colonial powers.
I re-read the 'incorporating Union' of 1707 as one of the many instances of the rhetoric of imperialism. I propose this can assist in a consideration of the status of Scotland in the contemporary debate. - it's a kind of ‘no but yes argument’ - which addresses the continuing dynamics of colonial strategies being played by London to obstruct Scottish Independence in 2021. This is not a paper about the past, it is a paper about the present.

EASR, 2019

Here's slides for the upcoming EASR conference - 25th to 29th June 2019. I've not tried posting ... more Here's slides for the upcoming EASR conference - 25th to 29th June 2019. I've not tried posting slides (as PDF) before, but hey... hopefully they will make enough sense. Take them at speed.

For the absence of doubt, my argument is not just that psychiatric method is overly reductive (a commonplace) but that the study of religion is too ready to afford a sui generis status to those who endure Acute Religious Experiences. If madness is embraced, as not necessarily pathological, the visions, voices and 'delusions' are a part of the phenomenological landscape. Was Jesus mad? Of course he was (see slides) but this doesn't make him 'wrong'. His madness was a necessary precondition for his capacity to change history.

The slideshare link, if you prefer, is: https://www.slideshare.net/RichardSavilleSmith/continuity-and-discontinuity-in-psychiatry-and-the-study-of-religion

Here's the short paper I gave at the fantastic The Inhuman Gaze conference in Paris in June 2018

Those who are possessed, see visions or hear voices are diagnosed by reference to a classificatio... more Those who are possessed, see visions or hear voices are diagnosed by reference to a classification woven from words and governed by the exegetes of the pathological who render them disabled. The DSM-5 is not “the Bible of psychiatry” (a better analogy is the Church councils conceptualizing the Trinity), but it reveals an epistemology in which Acute Religious Experiences are pathologized because all psychiatry is pathological. This self-referential loop leaves few alternative options. This paper argues that better language and a bigger conception is required to provide a non-pathological account of extra-ordinary experiences. This paper introduces the idea of “Madness” as a larger category of which the pathological is a subset. This allows the idea of Madness as an intrinsic feature of Human Diversity. It also creates space for the non-pathological category of Acute Religious Experiences.

Psychiatry and Religious Studies have common interests in extreme and extraordinary states when a... more Psychiatry and Religious Studies have common interests in extreme and extraordinary states when articulated in the languages of religions. For Religious Studies the problems with the category of religious experience are philosophical and profound; whilst the resurgence of interest in religion by psychiatrists (three meta-analyses in the past five years) has not repaired the damaging legacy of reductionist interpretations. In this paper I adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the religious experience discourse. From psychiatry I apply the new idea of Disruption, which makes its first appearance in the US psychiatric textbook DSM-5 (APA, 2013); and the older Biopsychosocial model (Engel, 1977). From Physiology I apply the language of 'ictal' (Adachi, 2002, 2010) to privilege a dynamic idea of time. These concepts involve particular epistemological presuppositions and, as this is an interdisciplinary, rather than a multidisciplinary contribution, these will be critically developed. The approach I propose provides a way of holistically addressing the categories of Mysticism, Possession and Altered States of Consciousness, as acute or extreme categories of experience. I propose that the idea of 'Disruption' can act as a pre-interpretive placeholder for a real existential experience which might (or might not) result in a non-pathological diagnosis of religious experience. The outcome depends on the socialisation of interpretation. I hope to show that the idea that there might be alternative interpretations removes the need for a sui generis defence of religious experience. By insisting on a biopsychosocial approach within an ictal framework, a way beyond the linguistic impasse of interpretation is proposed; the essentialism, implicit in the mysticism discourse, is questioned; and the non-medicalisation of Possession confirmed. The limitations of this paper point to the opportunity for further conversations between interested parties, including people with experiences of Disruption. Click for the article

In the Library of Congress, Psychiatry is classified as a branch of 'internal medicine' suggestin... more In the Library of Congress, Psychiatry is classified as a branch of 'internal medicine' suggesting difficulties for the artistic representation of the mentally ill, especially in static media. The usual solution, which goes back to Hogarth, is to reference contextual signifiers; to invoke the stereotypical artifacts associated with insanity: straightjackets, ECT, injections, shackles. But a sane person painted in a straightjacket passes for a loony.

There’s method in the madness Religious Studies, Psychiatry and Mad Studies 2016 British Associa... more There’s method in the madness
Religious Studies, Psychiatry and Mad Studies

2016 British Association for the Study of Religion – Religion beyond the textbook - Abstract:

In the secure psychiatric units of the Western World 25% articulate their experience in religious terms.

Historically, some Western psychiatrists retrospectively diagnosed the likes of Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, a host of saints and whole traditions, Sufis, Sadhus and the Spirit Possessed, finding them victims of mental disorders.

Some contemporary Psychiatrics suggest that, apart from language, “there is no difference between a religious experience (with psychotic phenomenology) and other psychotic experiences.”

If there might be something ‘not mad’ about religious ‘innovators and entrepreneurs’ like Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, etc., might there be something ‘not mad’ about some of the 25% in secure psychiatric units.

What are we supposed to do with this idea?

One obvious approach might be to listen to the people in secure units, beyond the text. However recent evidence shows NHS ethics committees reluctant to support non-medical research among ‘very sick people’. Whilst this raises questions about whose interests they serve, it perpetuates the silence of the mad.

Mad studies suggests another response. By including the voices of the Mad within the Academy it may be possible to engage in different ways of seeing which are not so obvious to the Religious Studies text(s).

This is a paper I gave at Exploring the Extraordinary 2015 in York - it's about Acute Religious E... more This is a paper I gave at Exploring the Extraordinary 2015 in York - it's about Acute Religious Experience and how we might think about them.

This is an abstract for the upcoming History of Mental Health conference in March 2016. It's orga... more This is an abstract for the upcoming History of Mental Health conference in March 2016. It's organised by the History and Philosophy of Psychology section of the British Psychological Society and the UK Critical Psychiatry Network
http://www.kc-jones.co.uk/history2016

Propose a paper and I'll hopefully see you there

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religion (JBASR), Feb 16, 2017

Here's the abstract for a presentation accepted for the EASR* 2022 conference in Cork *European ... more Here's the abstract for a presentation accepted for the EASR* 2022 conference in Cork

*European Association for the Study of Religions

The Expository Times, 2014

EASR, 2019

The slideshare link, if you prefer, is: https://www.slideshare.net/RichardSavilleSmith/continuity-and-discontinuity-in-psychiatry-and-the-study-of-religion

Here's the short paper I gave at the fantastic The Inhuman Gaze conference in Paris in June 2018

Psychiatry and Religious Studies have common interests in extreme and extraordinary states when a... more Psychiatry and Religious Studies have common interests in extreme and extraordinary states when articulated in the languages of religions. For Religious Studies the problems with the category of religious experience are philosophical and profound; whilst the resurgence of interest in religion by psychiatrists (three meta-analyses in the past five years) has not repaired the damaging legacy of reductionist interpretations. In this paper I adopt an interdisciplinary approach to the religious experience discourse. From psychiatry I apply the new idea of Disruption, which makes its first appearance in the US psychiatric textbook DSM-5 (APA, 2013); and the older Biopsychosocial model (Engel, 1977). From Physiology I apply the language of 'ictal' (Adachi, 2002, 2010) to privilege a dynamic idea of time. These concepts involve particular epistemological presuppositions and, as this is an interdisciplinary, rather than a multidisciplinary contribution, these will be critically developed. The approach I propose provides a way of holistically addressing the categories of Mysticism, Possession and Altered States of Consciousness, as acute or extreme categories of experience. I propose that the idea of 'Disruption' can act as a pre-interpretive placeholder for a real existential experience which might (or might not) result in a non-pathological diagnosis of religious experience. The outcome depends on the socialisation of interpretation. I hope to show that the idea that there might be alternative interpretations removes the need for a sui generis defence of religious experience. By insisting on a biopsychosocial approach within an ictal framework, a way beyond the linguistic impasse of interpretation is proposed; the essentialism, implicit in the mysticism discourse, is questioned; and the non-medicalisation of Possession confirmed. The limitations of this paper point to the opportunity for further conversations between interested parties, including people with experiences of Disruption. Click for the article

There’s method in the madness Religious Studies, Psychiatry and Mad Studies 2016 British Associa... more There’s method in the madness
Religious Studies, Psychiatry and Mad Studies

2016 British Association for the Study of Religion – Religion beyond the textbook - Abstract:

In the secure psychiatric units of the Western World 25% articulate their experience in religious terms.

Some contemporary Psychiatrics suggest that, apart from language, “there is no difference between a religious experience (with psychotic phenomenology) and other psychotic experiences.”

What are we supposed to do with this idea?

Propose a paper and I'll hopefully see you there

This is the paper I'm giving at 2.30pm (Central European Time) on 28th May 2023 at the fabulous T... more This is the paper I'm giving at 2.30pm (Central European Time) on 28th May 2023 at the fabulous Too Mad To Be True II conference. Read along as subtitles? Deviations possible, typos inevitable and punctuation all over the place.

As an intentionally independent scholar I do miss the critique of my peers. I'm pitching a propo... more As an intentionally independent scholar I do miss the critique of my peers. I'm pitching a proposal to the American Academy of Religion annual meeting in November. The proposal is due on March 1st. If you've got a moment, I'd very much welcome your feedback.

This is an abstract, the headings are obligatory. Modernity has some of the answers. Background: ... more This is an abstract, the headings are obligatory. Modernity has some of the answers. Background: Bibliographical analysis reveals the direct correlation of the terms 'mental health', 'mental illness' and 'psychiatry'. In turn it can be readily shown that psychiatry, in all its Freudian [DSMI-III] and Kraepelinian [DSMIV-5] convolutions is exquisitely entangled in the epistemology of Modernity, including its rejection of Religion. The UK Schizophrenia Commission's 2012 assertion that " until the 19th century…madness lay largely in the realm of religion " leaves Religion like a spandrel languishing in the humanities but absent from psychiatry.

for the 2016 British Association for the Study of Religion – Religion beyond the textbook In th... more for the 2016 British Association for the Study of Religion – Religion beyond the textbook

In the secure psychiatric units of the Western World 25% articulate their experience in religious terms.