{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Bowie, Ep. 25 - The Divided Self by R.D. Laing & Why This Book Seemed Personal","description":"To start with, Laing states that the basic purpose of this book is to make madness, and the process of going mad, comprehensible. The full title is The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness. Okay, what\u2019s the definition of existentialism? It\u2019s a philosophical movement that stresses the individual\u2019s unique position as a self-determining agent responsible for making meaningful, authentic choices in a universe seen as purposeless or irrational. What did this all mean to Bowie? We do know that his brother was schizophrenic. And, we go into that in more detail in this episode. Laing\u2019s approach to understanding the schizophrenic is one of understanding a human being, who\u2019s world is his reality, a reality just as valid as yours or ours. We agreed that if we were trying to understand a friend or family member who was schizophrenic, this would be the book to read. That said, it is a lot to take in. So, if you\u2019re reading along with the book club but haven\u2019t completed the book yet, dive into the podcast anyway. It won\u2019t spoil the book, and it just might give you another angle from which to view it. Maybe even one close to Bowie\u2019s. ","author_name":"75 Reads","author_url":"https:\/\/www.75reads.com","html":"