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Bizarre Behaviours: Boundaries of Psychiatric Disorder
Human behaviour, which holds a fascination for most people, can best be viewed as lying on a spectrum - from normality at one end to extreme deviation at the other, with obvious grey areas in-between. Even the most deviant-seeming behaviours appear to have their counterparts in normality, and such behaviours can often be explained (at least in part) when viewed in their socio-cultural and psychological context.
111 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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About the author
Herschel Prins
14 booksProfessor Herschel A. Prins of the Midlands Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice at Loughborough University has specialised in the study of mentally disordered offender-patients for over fifty years.
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January 23, 2019
‘The study of so-called extreme forms of behaviour can be useful in teaching us about the whole range of human conduct.’
Herschel Prins’ concise but rich study of the bizarre behaviours that can be found at the boundaries of psychiatric disorder has much to offer those interested in the interface between psychiatry and literature, particularly literature of a darker, Gothic predisposition.
Prins’ engagement with a range of psychiatric disorders, including the urge to run amok, delusional jealousy, vampirism and necrophilia is compellingly illustrated by references to classic works of literature. This emphasises one of Prins’ central points, that ‘in order to enrich our understanding [of such behaviours] we must explore the territories of anthropology, folklore, mythology art, and theology as well as those disciplines that concern themselves more specifically with seriously abnormal behaviour such as abnormal psychology, psychiatry, forensic medicine, toxicology and pathology.’
Thus ‘Bizzare Behaviours’ ultimately represents an irresistible manifesto for multidisciplinary approaches to understanding and addressing such phenomena. As a good friend of mine remarked, Prins’ work delineates the boundary where psychiatry and literature meet, offering a greater understanding of both. This is important, invaluable work.
Herschel Prins’ concise but rich study of the bizarre behaviours that can be found at the boundaries of psychiatric disorder has much to offer those interested in the interface between psychiatry and literature, particularly literature of a darker, Gothic predisposition.
Prins’ engagement with a range of psychiatric disorders, including the urge to run amok, delusional jealousy, vampirism and necrophilia is compellingly illustrated by references to classic works of literature. This emphasises one of Prins’ central points, that ‘in order to enrich our understanding [of such behaviours] we must explore the territories of anthropology, folklore, mythology art, and theology as well as those disciplines that concern themselves more specifically with seriously abnormal behaviour such as abnormal psychology, psychiatry, forensic medicine, toxicology and pathology.’
Thus ‘Bizzare Behaviours’ ultimately represents an irresistible manifesto for multidisciplinary approaches to understanding and addressing such phenomena. As a good friend of mine remarked, Prins’ work delineates the boundary where psychiatry and literature meet, offering a greater understanding of both. This is important, invaluable work.
Displaying 1 of 1 review