Paranoia is a powerful force, shown throughout history to have a devastating impact on entire societies. While other forms of mental illness are far more immediate — only paranoia can literally make history, as it did through Hitler and Stalin. It takes hold of events directly because, unlike the rest of pathology, it is contagious. Far from being individual, its dynamics are self-replicating. Once infected, the collective uncounscious acquires an autonomous life that cannot be controlled. Currently, modern media and mass communication have amplified collective paranoia, giving it even more self-feeding power.
Join us in welcoming Italian Jungian analyst Luigi Zoja for an insightful study of the use and misuse of paranoia in the past and present. Discussion will combine history, depth psychology, contemporary politics, and tragic literature.