Voices

Muses, Madmen, and Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science, and Meaning of Auditory Hallucination (2007) by Daniel B. Smith

The author was motivated to write the book, in part, because both his father and grandfather heard voices.

The book draws on diverse sources such as literature, history, psychology, psychiatry, religion, neurology, etc. to explore the phenomenon of voice-hearing.

One of the interesting sources cited is The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (1976) by Princeton professor of psychology Julian Jaymes. According to Jaymes, before about 3,000 years ago, everyone was a voice-hearer.

The author devotes a lot of effort to three case studies: Socrates, Joan of Arc, and German psychiatric patient Daniel Paul Schreber. Socrates and Joan were executed for their voice-hearing. Schreber's life was ruined.

It is apparent that a lot of people hear voices, and some deal with it a lot better than others. Many of the cases are tragic in the extreme, but others are more positive (e.g., voices as an inspiration of poetry).