On the Heels of Ignorance by Owen Whooley

Whooley’s path is one worth taking.” ( Jason Schnittker, University of Pennsylvania) The controversies of twenty-first-century psychiatry look very much like those of the nineteenth century, once you are prepared to see the connections and appreciate much of the unknowability of mental suffering.

Seeing the history of psychiatry through its efforts to manage ignorance is at once new and entirely convincing. “Whooley convincingly shows that the study of ignorance can produce understanding. In boldly conceived episodes, Whooley deftly shows how psychiatrists repeatedly and optimistically reinvented their discipline when faced with professional crises.” ( Elizabeth Lunbeck, author of The Americanization of Narcissism) Whooley gives us an arresting interpretation of American psychiatry’s history, challenges, and resiliency, from its origins in the nineteenth-century asylum to its recent embrace of neuroscience. “Essential reading for anyone interested in psychiatry’s past fortunes and future prospects. Whooley is an engaging writer and his book is an exciting one, with compelling analysis well positioned to make a real impact.” ( Aaron Panofsky, author of Misbehaving Science) Whooley’s gambit is to narrate psychiatry from the point of view of its professional persistence in the face of recurrent failure. “ On the Heels of Ignorance is a substantial achievement, addressing a core puzzle in the history of psychiatry. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. On the Heels of Ignorance draws from intellectual history and the sociology of professions to portray an ongoing human effort to make sense of complex mental phenomena using an imperfect set of tools, with sometimes tragic results. Whooley’s book is no antipsychiatric screed, however instead, he reveals a field that has muddled through periodic reinventions and conflicting agendas of curiosity, compassion, and professional striving. On the Heels of Ignorance begins with psychiatry’s formal inception in the 1840s and moves through two centuries of constant struggle simply to define and redefine mental illness, to say nothing of the best way to treat it. But, as Owen Whooley’s sweeping new book tells us, the history of American psychiatry is really a record of ignorance. Psychiatry has always aimed to peer deep into the human mind, daring to cast light on its darkest corners and untangle its thorniest knots, often invoking the latest medical science in doing so.

On the Heels of Ignorance by Owen Whooley