In my fourth year of my PhD on schizophrenia and I'm currently writing up my thesis. I'm procrastinating right now so thought I'd do something useful with what I've been studying.
And no, schizophrenia is not multiple personality disorder.
Edit: I have to get dinner and run some errands. I'm really enjoying this so I will definitely get back and answer the rest of the questions.
I have been interested for a while in the idea of schizophrenia being used in shamanic rituals. Do you think that if people with schizophrenia were properly mentored (by an elder with schizophrenia or perhaps just someone with adequate training in the field.) and lived in an adequately supportive society that considered it as a potential gift or unique and valued form of consciousness, that people could learn to use it as a tool I.E. in visionary shamanic ceremonies? or is this complete woo? I think I saw a ted talk about this.
I don't think it's complete woo. I do think that it's possible to have a society that adequately supports people with schizophrenia so that it's seen differently (for example, as a different form of consciousness). I think that the negative stigma of having it contributes to how the symptoms are experienced so I think it would help them in that respect as well. Whether or not people could use it as a tool (such as in shamanic rituals), I wouldn't rule it out but I'm not sure how that would be achieved.
I think the idea is that non nuerotypical people are positioned to provide a unique perspective and can therefore provide insights that may be difficult or impossible to see through a sober, neurotypical ("squares") lense.
Furthermore, while colonized western fethish for rationality has provided many advantages in the form scientific advancements, it also tends bolsters patriarchal or authoritarian institutions such as capitalism by creating a sort of rational tunnel vision. For example, free markets might make sense if the economy were composed of rational actors, but it blatantly isn't. Instead of addressing this by creating a political economy that accounts for the broad range if human conciousness, we create things like modern economics to paper over the complexities of society and economy.
In similar vein, I work at a group home for people with intellectual disabilities called L'Arche and we are taught to try to be as open as possible to the perspective of people with with disabilities because of what they can teach those of us without disabilities about relationships, community, vunerability, the value of human life etc. so this is why I am Interested in the idea of how this philosophy could be expanded to create a society that is more inclusive and values diversity.
That's one of the talks she talks about how her perception of herself changed her understanding of her schizophrenia.
I believe in this one the presenter talks more specifically about spirituality and shamanism.
Anyway, I guess I'm just sharing. I recently lost a close friend to schizophrenia so maybe I'm working through that and trying to make sense of that.
Sorry to hear about your friend, mate. It's nice to see that you've done so much research. I agree that non-neurotypical people are able to provide insights that are impossible to see through neurotypical lens (in fact, I think that we've almost hit a wall in some aspects in trying to understand it from a neurotypical lens). I've seen the first video but haven't seen the second video;thanks for sharing it.