Histories of suspicion in a time of conspiracy: a reflection on Aubrey Lewis's history of paranoia

Article

Harper, D. 1994. Histories of suspicion in a time of conspiracy: a reflection on Aubrey Lewis's history of paranoia. History of the Human Sciences. 7 (3), pp. 89-109.
AuthorsHarper, D.
Abstract

In this paper, I will develop a reading of an account of the history of the category of mental disorder known as 'paranoia', written by an eminent British psychiatrist, Aubrey Lewis. The analysis will draw on both the ideological context in which the account is embedded and the interests dominant and subjugated within the text. I will argue that Lewis' paper depicts the history of paranoia as continuous, scientific, coherent and empirically optimistic and thus renders itself acontextual, failing to pay regard to a whole range of influences both on its development as a concept (ideological, professional, political and so on) and in its practical usage.

KeywordsParanoia; attitudes towards mental health conditions; History of Paranoia
JournalHistory of the Human Sciences
Journal citation7 (3), pp. 89-109
ISSN1461-720X
0952-6951
Year1994
Accepted author manuscript
License
CC BY-ND
Web address (URL)http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/095269519400700304
http://hdl.handle.net/10552/647
Publication dates
Print1994
Publication process dates
Deposited09 Mar 2010
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Citation:
Harper, D.J. (1994) ‘Histories of suspicion in a time of conspiracy: A reflection on Aubrey Lewis's history of paranoia.’ History of the Human Sciences, 7 (3) 89-109..

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