Into the Open: On Henri Maldiney's Philosophy of Psychosis

This article explains the fundamental concepts of Maldineyan thought and their psychopathological and therapeutic implications. Central to Maldiney's philosophy is the concept of sensible openness to a radical change which Maldiney calls the "event." For Maldiney, this openness is constituted by a receptive and a responsive dimension. In its receptive dimension, openness means, roughly, the ability to undergo something radically new; in its responsive dimension, it means a readiness to actively and creatively respond to this event. Psychosis is the result of a collapse of openness in the face of the event. In affective psychosis, that is, melancholic depression, the responsive aspect of openness is lost—in schizophrenic psychosis its receptive counterpart is. In both cases, the aim of a therapy should be the reopening of the sensible connection to the world. Examples of such a reopening such as art therapy and the Open Dialogue approach are discussed.