This piece is written in such a way that it is difficult to ascertain the precise facts. Some of it has a vague "where there's smoke there's fire" quality, and I'd like to know more about the fire concerned.
Nonetheless, my hackles rise at the prospect of a government health service, such as the National Health Service in the UK, treating exorcism as a legitimate form of psychiatric therapy. British readers might want to look into this further, ask some questions, and try to establish what the hell (as it were) is going on here.
H/T Richard Ashcroft
About Me
- Russell Blackford
- Australian philosopher, literary critic, legal scholar, and professional writer. Based in Newcastle, NSW. My latest books are THE TYRANNY OF OPINION: CONFORMITY AND THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM (2019); AT THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRANSITION: THE QUESTION OF RADICAL ENHANCEMENT (2021); and HOW WE BECAME POST-LIBERAL: THE RISE AND FALL OF TOLERATION (2024).
2 comments:
Have you ever watched "The Exorcism of Emily Rose"? The courtroom scenes raise this sort of issue, and really got me thinking about cases where, say, the problem is an underlying feeling that they are subordinating their religion to "modern" sensibilities, and thus solving it in reference to specific religious ritual and beliefs may well be the easiest, best, and perhaps only way to solve their problem.
Sorry, haven't seen it.
Post a Comment