In this presentation based on his 2017 book, Paranoia – The Madness that makes History, Zoja will focus on paranoia as a mental condition that can literally make history, as it did through Hitler and Stalin. Paranoia, he argues, can take hold of events directly because, unlike the rest of pathology, it is contagious, and its dynamics are self-replicating and capable of devouring entire societies. Masquerading behind false logic, paranoia can be fatally attractive and often far more seductive than any political, religious, or ideological discourse. Zoja’s presentation will focus on Western past and current socio-political developments around the globe through reading of history, literature and depth psychology.

Dr. Zoja has been a teaching analyst and cultural scholar across training institutions in Europe as well as Asia and South America. He is former president of IAAP (International Association of Analytical Psychology). His work addresses historical, cultural, anthropological, and psychological aspects of individual and collective archetypal experiences, including addiction, limitless consumption, the absence of the father, hatred and paranoid projections in politics, and cultural violence. Rather than treating these conditions in isolation, Zoja places them in the light of persistent ancient patterns, as expressed in myth and classical literature.