While the sufferer may lack the individualized part of the mind, the general resources of culture, above all language, are often incredibly active, and without direction from the will on the basis of a clearly experienced identity, the symbolic resources of the mind seem to run free. The process of piecing the world together, (for the most part usually not a self-conscious process), becomes an explicit effort. If the individualized part of the mind вЂ“ the part that internalizes the multitude of cultural conventions вЂ“ is not functioning normally, a disturbing consciousness of both the external world and the self may result. Most members of the society recognize this as the вЂњlogicalвЂќ action given the context вЂ“ there is no self-conscious thought required to deduce this вЂ“ though in a different cultural context the same action might be completely absurd. In fact, even in modern society, вЂњnormalвЂќ people switch between contextual logics all the time вЂ“ the example in the interview of the intense focus on something like a handshake is interesting because this is a perfect example of an instance when a particular cultural logic (that is not aristotelian logic) is at work.

We falsely assume the absolute need for logical thinking in formal thought, (which probably plays right in to the biological framework). She points out that the importance of logic in modern society obscures the fact that its development was an historical (and thus cultural) phenomenon, that it is not an inherent, universal ability. One of GreenfeldвЂ™s most important observations about the language and thought of those diagnosed with schizophrenia is that it is not simply devoid of content or вЂњdisorganized.вЂќ Rather, it is unconstrained by logic proper, (aristotelian logic based on the principle of no contradiction), and the various contextual logics at work in a particular culture and time. Some of the experiences he describes (and hopefully some of the experiences of visitors to this site) become more intelligible within her new framework. SassвЂ™s work and attention to the experiences of people diagnosed as schizophrenic made his book an important source for GreenfeldвЂ™s own book. The thinking self may become fixed on questions of identity it may have to stand in for the will, when a person has to talk him/herself into acting in situations which normally wouldnвЂ™t require self-conscious reflection (e.g going to the bathroom, eating, getting out of bed) or in the most severe cases, the thinking self may become completely disconnected from individualized culture, in which case all the cultural resources of the mind range free, without direction from identity and will. Malformation of identity and impairment of the will necessarily affect the functioning of the thinking self (the вЂњI of self-consciousnessвЂќ) вЂ“ the part of the mind which is explicitly symbolic in the sense that it operates with formal symbols вЂ“ above all, language. It follows then that problems with identity formation lead to problems with the will. A well formed identity functions as a map of the relevant sociocultural terrain and the individuals place in it, making possible the subjective ranking of the choices present at any moment, giving the will, (or acting self), a basis for decision-making. Greenfeld hypothesizes that the lack of direction given by modern culture makes the once relatively simple process of identity formation much more complicated. Identity вЂ“ the relationally constituted self вЂ“ is always a reflection of a particular cultural environment. This symbolic reality is only alive, (the process can only occur), in individual brains, hence the understanding of the mind as вЂњculture in the brain,вЂќ or вЂњindividualized culture.вЂќ Three important вЂњstructuresвЂќ of the mind вЂ“ (patterned and systematic symbolic processes which must be supported by corresponding patterned and systematic processes in the brain) вЂ“ are identity, will, and the thinking self. Greenfeld defines culture as the symbolic transmission of human ways of life and identifies it as an emergent phenomenon вЂ“ a new reality with its own rules, that nonetheless operates within the boundary conditions of life. Sociologist Liah Greenfeld is finishing work on a book about mental illness and modern culture, which I recently wrote about in a multi-part exposition on my blog ( )

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