Daggers of the Mind is a provocative tale of the psychiatric professions’ obsession with science. This may sound odd, but Dr. Gordon Warme, a U of T psychiatrist and psychoanalyst and the book’s author, wants you to ask why. The book questions the deeply entrenched medical assumptions that biology holds as explanations for human behaviour and mental illness, and encourages readers to resist “scientism” and become decisive players in their own mental health.
For years, psychiatrists have religiously pursued the possible biological roots of mental illness, desperately chasing biological explanations for schizophrenia, depression and mania (episodes of high energy that are usually associated with bipolar disorder).
But Warme boldly disagrees. He asserts that no sufficient scientific evidence exists to indicate a natural cause for the diseases. He even goes as far as calling mental illness, in terms of being a biologically-based disease, a myth.
His book Daggers of the Mind accuses psychiatrists of misleading themselves-and the public-into believing that biology is the ultimate factor in mental illness.
BOOK review
Daggers of the Mind
Written by Dr. Gordon Warme
House of Anansi
Rating: VVVV / VVVVV
Warme’s novel forces readers to re-examine their own biases, arguing that viewing the world through a biological lens is a limited way of understanding human behaviour. He argues that “scientism” is the new religion in the West, and has consequently encroached into the psychiatric profession.
Daggers of the Mind denounces pharmaceutical companies and academics alike for selling the public on the idea of mental “diseases.” According to Warme, no objective test has distinguished between the effects of drugs and placebo-induced improvements on mental illnesses.
By discarding the assumptions of biological psychiatry, Warme asserts what he believes is the truth: that mental illness is an enigmatic psychological condition that still bewilders psychiatrists.
“Psychiatric knowledge is a set of tentative opinions. When opinions become unyielding, they are ideology. There is no scientific knowledge of why people act as they do, nor is there scientific knowledge of why people respond well to treatment.”
“The belief that psychiatric disorders are biologically caused is a faith position, an ardently believed in ideology,” Warme says in his book.
Warme makes a clear distinction between psychiatry and all other branches of medicine. While the latter can use tests to determine whether abnormalities exists, psychiatry cannot test for sicknesses because it is not an “objective” field of study, and therefore cannot be restricted to the realm of science.
“Anyone, especially any real scientist, understands the necessity of objective evidence,” Warme chastised.
A self-styled “half-artist” as well as a clinician, Warme uses personal examples and case studies to assert that any form of art-whether opera, a Shakespearean play, or pop music-is a placebo cure for human suffering. He argues that “literature is the best template for human behavior,” because when people connect with fictional characters, it helps them understand themselves better. This can be the best therapeutic weapon, particularly for those combating schizophrenia or depression.
“Art invites [people] to wrestle with ghosts,” Warme said.
Warme also uses various cross-cultural case studies to show the reader how culture-a factor he said biologically-oriented psychiatrists ignore-shapes human behaviour.
Relentlessly curious, and deeply skeptical, Warme provides clear arguments, well aware that his is not a popular opinion. His candid style and brusqueness reads like an informal conversation. His style is free of the jargon that commonly clutters the popular books of other medical writers, making his book more engaging and easier to comprehend than others in its field. Faced with the difficult task of preaching against mainstream science, Warme has written an interesting book to introduce the public to a debate they may have otherwise never considered.
