The Divided Self Commentary
‘The Divided Self’ by R. D. Laing Commentary
In ‘The Divided Self’, Laing examines schizoid and schizophrenic people and attempts to make their situation more understandable in existential terms. In order to understand Laing’s work, a person must first understand the concept of existential phenomenology, in which a person is characterized by his way of being-in-the-world. It involves the way he reacts to his environment and himself as a part of his world. It must also be mentioned that a person can not interact with the world, without having relatedness to others in the world.
Part One Laing begins by stating that a schizoid is one that is divided into different parts, between himself and his world, and within his own self, which limits his ability to interact with his world as a whole being, and places him in isolation. This sense of isolation is only enhanced by the use of psychiatric words that makes him appear as an object, or a list of ‘symptoms’ of his ‘disease’. One must not characterize the patient prematurely, labeling them using psychiatric words that distance them from the psychiatrist immediately, and splitting the patient into different mental parts, rather than looking at him as a whole being. It is necessary for a patient to be seen as a whole being-in-the-world, rather than be split even more, as this is how the patient’s existence is confirmed, as a man cannot exist without his world. To try to comprehend the schizoid experience, Laing used the example of an optical illusion, involving two profile faces and a vase. It is one image, however it can be perceived as two things, depending on the point of view it is looked at. One person may see the two faces, whereas another will see the vase. The way in which the image is viewed will change a person’s reaction to it. As with the vase and two faces, a person can also be seen as different things. A person can be seen as someone just like themselves, a whole being interacting
In ‘The Divided Self’, Laing examines schizoid and schizophrenic people and attempts to make their situation more understandable in existential terms. In order to understand Laing’s work, a person must first understand the concept of existential phenomenology, in which a person is characterized by his way of being-in-the-world. It involves the way he reacts to his environment and himself as a part of his world. It must also be mentioned that a person can not interact with the world, without having relatedness to others in the world.
Part One Laing begins by stating that a schizoid is one that is divided into different parts, between himself and his world, and within his own self, which limits his ability to interact with his world as a whole being, and places him in isolation. This sense of isolation is only enhanced by the use of psychiatric words that makes him appear as an object, or a list of ‘symptoms’ of his ‘disease’. One must not characterize the patient prematurely, labeling them using psychiatric words that distance them from the psychiatrist immediately, and splitting the patient into different mental parts, rather than looking at him as a whole being. It is necessary for a patient to be seen as a whole being-in-the-world, rather than be split even more, as this is how the patient’s existence is confirmed, as a man cannot exist without his world. To try to comprehend the schizoid experience, Laing used the example of an optical illusion, involving two profile faces and a vase. It is one image, however it can be perceived as two things, depending on the point of view it is looked at. One person may see the two faces, whereas another will see the vase. The way in which the image is viewed will change a person’s reaction to it. As with the vase and two faces, a person can also be seen as different things. A person can be seen as someone just like themselves, a whole being interacting
Cited: Laing, R. D. The Divided Self. London: Penguin Classics, 2010. Print.