Paranoia – Zoja Luigi (2024)

History is not written by the victors, but by paranoia. In his groundbreaking book, Paranoia, leading Jungian psychoanalyst Luigi Zoja depicts paranoia as an individual disorder that becomes collective. The author explains this mental disorder through a historical perspective and connects it with an analysis that shifts from the realm of human psychopathology to the sphere of effects it triggers. Paranoia is a disorder that can write history, which is an idea that defines the author's starting position and his unique methodological framework, as the examination of paranoia occurs both at a historical level and in the study of human individuality. Paranoia spreads like wildfire, and this aspect characterizes history; in exemplary cases like Stalin and Hitler, it was the focal point of fears and intolerance towards the Other. In the sense of C. G. Jung, it is a 'psychic contagion.' The modern era and mass communication have brought an enormous amount of information on one hand, but they have also significantly expanded the potential for the spread of collective delusions. Through a combination of history, depth psychology, contemporary politics, and ancient myths, he arrives at a balanced and clearly understandable analysis. He examines paranoia not from a clinical perspective, but as an aggressive and...