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THREE Paranoid Psychology After all , you are psychoanalysis in person! — Sandor Ferenczi t o Freud Recent thinkin g abou t th e psycholog y o f paranoi a ha s tende d strongl y t o discourage Freud' s contentio n tha t i t ha s a singl e caus e o r represent s a single condition . 'Paranoia ' no w accompanie s a broa d rang e o f conditions , rarely, i f ever, occurrin g i n a pur e form . Th e rang e begin s wit h peopl e wh o have rigi d an d suspiciou s personalitie s ye t functio n mor e o r les s success fully i n society , an d extend s t o psychoti c patient s wit h megalomaniaca l o r messianic delusions . Diagnosti c term s stretc h fro m mer e 'paranoi d person ality ' to 'schizophrenia, paranoi d type'. * Paranoia i s "a syndrome: a constel lation o f symptom s whic h ten d t o occu r togethe r bu t whic h ca n b e cause d by man y differen t factor s an d ca n eve n b e see n a s a secondar y accompani ment o f othe r illnesses , suc h a s organi c diseases." 2 Paranoi a ma y develo p in relativel y norma l peopl e i n time s o f stres s o r depression . I t i s bes t understood a s a 'slant', 3 a n 'outlook' , a 'style' , a 'mod e o f thinking'.4 I t ca n be usefull y place d i n a typolog y alongsid e othe r 'neuroti c styles' : th e 'obsessive-compulsive', th e 'hysteric' , 'th e impulsive'. 5 Mos t paranoid s manage t o hol d job s an d t o concea l thei r conditio n muc h o f the time . The y are n o mor e likel y t o b e foun d i n a n asylu m tha n i n society , wher e the y may exer t considerabl e influence : The paranoid individua l ma y significantly affec t th e course of history itself , a s di d Hitler an d [Joh n Wilkes ] Booth . H e ma y b e involve d i n man y area s o f th e community: obstreperou s citizen , cunnin g politician , delusiona l clergyma n wit h excessive religiosity . Hi s influenc e ma y b e a s calamitou s a s tha t o f th e paranoi d assassin o r a s subtl e a s tha t o f th e embittere d offic e worke r wh o feels mistreate d and plant s seeds of discontent i n his co-workers. Ther e may be no adverse effects ; the researche r wh o is actively delusiona l ma y be able to perform scientifi c experi ments with grea t skil l an d perhap s ma y even b e aided b y the withdrawal o f social contact which gives him ample time to spend i n the laboratory. 6 41 42 • Chapter Three Taking u p thi s flexible applicatio n o f th e ter m 'paranoia' , i t wil l no t b e necessary t o equat e Freudia n psycholog y strictl y wit h an y for m o f psycho sis , bu t merel y t o se e tha t i t represent s a n exampl e o f th e 'paranoi d slant ' in it s mos t elaborat e an d self-consciou s form . I n th e wor k o f Freud , para noia achieve s th e statu s o f a worldvie w wit h it s ow n self-generatin g logic , building upo n th e alread y well-develope d tren d o f suspicio n i n moder n culture—that cultur e which , i n proclaimin g itsel f t o b e modern , define s itself i n suspiciou s rejectio n o f th e past . I f th e argumen t o f th e foregoin g chapter i s correct , th e psychologica l descriptio n o f paranoia i s itsel f bot h a symptom an...

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