Don Quixote's madness is a great topic for debate. I believe the Don's mental state has to be put in context. Is he mad? After all, he believes in an ideal. He believes in doing good, in creating a better world for his fellow man. Is that mad? Besides, Einstein saw the world differently from everyone else. Was he mad?

And what about so many other characters in the book, characters who don't believe in any ideals, who don't strive to help others? Are they sane?

Intestingly, when DQ loses his idealism, his unique view of the world, he cannot live. When Sancho, who sees the world as it supposedly really is, gets a chance to govern, he does so wisely - until he can't handle the pressure, so to speak, and flees. Is that sanity?

In short, can a person be sane without ideals?

Randy

Hi Randy, great questions, and glad to see Don Quixote back in the "View Active Topics" list.

There is an old saying 'without vision the people perish'. I think that Cervantes is celebrating Don Quixote's sense of vision, but offering a word of caution about overly bold speculation.

Cervantes is equally mocking the ordinary people around Don Quixote for their lack of vision. They only accept as real what they can hold and touch, or what they are instructed by authorities is real. Don Quixote, by contrast, has a fabulous systematic cosmology, building castles in the air, imagining the world of his dreams is real.

This contrast touches on big issues for psychology, describing tendencies which are equally dangerous when taken to excess in opposite directions. The cynical critics would argue that no rational speculation is possible or worthwhile, despite the fact that such speculation is at the base of imaginative genius and social change. Such cynicism is deathly, as it shuts down the intelligence that is required for innovation.

And of course Don Quixote himself provides some lessons regarding the perils of taking solipsistic speculation too seriously...

Einstein is a paradoxical character. He is the epitome of the 'mad scientist' with those photos of his wild hair, but also the epitome of total sanity. I think a point from Einstein's amazing 1905 papers on relativity is that you have to dare to follow your dreams, but also listen carefully to other people and build your dream in collaboration with others in case your dreams turn into a fantasy, and you find you are tilting at windmills.

Robert Tulip

Robert Tulip wrote:
There is an old saying 'without vision the people perish'. I think that Cervantes is celebrating Don Quixote's sense of vision, but offering a word of caution about overly bold speculation.

Cervantes is equally mocking the ordinary people around Don Quixote for their lack of vision. They only accept as real what they can hold and touch, or what they are instructed by authorities is real. Don Quixote, by contrast, has a fabulous systematic cosmology, building castles in the air, imagining the world of his dreams is real.

This contrast touches on big issues for psychology, describing tendencies which are equally dangerous when taken to excess in opposite directions. The cynical critics would argue that no rational speculation is possible or worthwhile, despite the fact that such speculation is at the base of imaginative genius and social change. Such cynicism is deathly, as it shuts down the intelligence that is required for innovation.

Robert Tulip

I've read only the first few chapters of Don Quixote but the madness theme is already front and center. I appreciate the comments here about the other side of madness, connected with imagination, creativity and innovativeness. And I can imagine that Cervantes used his imagination to survive his incarceration. We might also ask 'how do the mad see the world'? Do they see rational people all about, and themselves as irrational, or do they see madness and mad people everywhere therefore feeling that they are the sane ones within an altered reality world? I'll be interested to see if Don Quixote realizes he is mad.

Although not related to madness, I want to add that Cervantes stresses a strong sense of place, that is, the place a person is from is a significant part of them, which is an important tradition in some cultures today. In rapidly changing times, perhaps in 'mad' times, holding onto this sense of place and identity can be useful element of personal foundation.

Robert,
Well said. Great discussion everyone.
Randy