James Hillman On Paranoia

The Religion, Politics, and Psychology of Personal and Collective Madness

Friday, March 19, 2:00-9:00pm
Saturday, March 20, 9:00am-4.30pm
in Santa Barbara, California

No acceptable clear-cut line exists between religious delusion (paranoia) and religious revelation. Clinical psychology has long struggled with this dilemma, as has the Roman Catholic Church. C.G. Jung’s distinction between “God” and “the image of God” (a psychic phenomenon) has helped, but it is unacceptable to religionists, such as Martin Buber. Profound psychological disturbances brought on by the word “God” are now fermenting throughout the American secular, reason-based state, which founds itself upon “God.”

If we are to find a way through current dangers, we need to understand more about the nature of both delusions and revelations. The very destruction of the planet hinges on our understanding of paranoia. This seminar will examine the paranoid behavior style in individual cases, in order to gain insight into the undetected structures of delusional madness in society.

Pacifica Graduate Institute is honored to be the respository of the James Hillman Collection, a rich archive of his work that is made available to scholars worldwide.