The First Reason Why I'm Catholic: An Error of Omission
In my twenties I studied the history of Western philosophy; it is often told as a triumphant march of Reason. But in the mid-20th century, a famous intellectual skirmish broke out over what—or Who—was left behind on that march. The debate centered on a few pages of René Descartes’ Meditations, but it opened up a chasm between two of France’s greatest thinkers: Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida.
At the heart of the conflict is a haunting question: Is "madness" a biological reality we’ve learned to treat, or is it a category we invented to keep "Reason" pure?
The Cartesian Doubt: Can the Thinker be Mad?
In his First Meditation, Descartes sets out to doubt everything to find a foundation for certainty. He wonders if his senses are deceiving him, acknowledging that people in "insane asylums" believe they are kings when they are poor. However, Descartes quickly brushes this aside. He argues that while he can doubt his senses, he cannot be "mad" because the very act of systematic, rational doubting requires a sane mind.
* Foucault’s Interpretation: In Madness and Civilization, Foucault argues this is a "judicial exile." By excluding the madman from the realm of thought, Descartes establishes Reason by forcefully ousting its opposite. Madness becomes an "error of omission"—a silence at the heart of the Enlightenment.
* Derrida’s Rebuttal: Derrida argued that Foucault misunderstood the text. For Derrida, Descartes didn't exile madness; he surpassed it by imagining an "Evil Genius" that could deceive even a sane mind. Reason doesn't lock madness out; it looks into the abyss and finds the Cogito ("I think") anyway.
The Divine Omission and the Great Separation
Both philosophers made a contextual error by omitting Descartes’s purpose: to prove the existence of God. Descartes wasn't just trying to be "rational"; he was trying to prove that a benevolent God would not allow a sincere seeker to be perpetually deceived. This theological safety net led to Cartesian Dualism—the separation of the world into Res Cogitans (Mind/Soul) and Res Extensa (Matter/Body).
This separation allowed science to study the body as a machine, but it also birthed the stigma we see today. By treating the "mind" as a separate, ghostly pilot, we began to view mental struggles as either a "moral failing" of the soul or a "mechanical breakdown" of the body, rather than a unified human experience.
The Plastic Brain: Where Culture Meets Biology
Modern neuroscience has finally dismantled Descartes’ wall. We now know the brain is plastic—it physically reshapes itself based on our experiences, our environment, and our culture. This provides a fascinating bridge between Foucault and biology:
> The Paradox of Construction: If the brain is plastic, then the fact that mental illness is "culturally constructed" doesn't mean it isn't "real." On the contrary, if a culture creates an environment of isolation, high stress, or stigma, the brain physically adapts to those conditions. The cultural "construct" becomes a biological "reality."
>
The Soul as Creative Spirit
If we move past the idea of the soul as a "ghostly passenger," we can reclaim it as our creative spirit. The soul is the emergent process that weaves together our biological hardware and our cultural software.
* The Biological: The plastic brain, recording every trauma and triumph.
* The Cultural: The social context that gives those neural patterns a name (like "depression.”)
* The Soul: The creative force that attempts to make meaning out of the two.
When we view the soul as our creative spirit, therapy stops being about "fixing a broken machine" and starts being about neuroplasticity in action. It is the process of using our creative will to reshape a brain that has been molded by a stigmatizing world.
Conclusion: Filling the Omission
Descartes gave us the "Mind," Foucault gave us "Context," and Neuroscience gave us the "Plastic Brain." The "Error of Omission" is only corrected when we realize they are all one. Madness is not a silence to be exiled, but a part of the human story. By understanding that our culture shapes our biology, we can use our creative spirit to build a world where the mind is no longer exiled from the body, and the person is no longer omitted from the cure.
The creative spirit, or soul of human consciousness, is as important to our well-being as food. That's Gastronomical Love.
Because I studied Foucault and Derrida in my twenties, and the History of Madness, and later realised that they omitted the context where Descartes was proving the existence of God, and that Descartes himself was Catholic, that's the first reason why I'm Catholic, but do you see? Do you see that the creative spirit makes you well, whatever you call it:
Ancient & Classical
* Psyche (Greek)
* Pneuma (Greek)
* Anima (Latin)
* Spiritus (Latin)
* Ka (Ancient Egyptian)
* Ba (Ancient Egyptian)
* Akh (Ancient Egyptian)
* Ruaḥ (Hebrew)
* Nefesh (Hebrew)
* Neshamah (Hebrew)
Eastern & Asian Cultures
* Atman (Sanskrit)
* Jiva (Sanskrit)
* Purusha (Sanskrit)
* Hun (Chinese)
* Po (Chinese)
* Ling (Chinese)
* Shen (Chinese)
* Tamashii (Japanese)
* Reikon (Japanese)
* Inochi (Japanese)
* Hon (Korean)
* Ngon (Korean)
* Kwan (Thai)
* Semangat (Malay/Indonesian)
* Jiwa (Indonesian)
Indigenous & Tribal Cultures
* Ori (Yoruba)
* Kra (Akan)
* Sunsum (Akan)
* Sila (Inuit)
* Taqqiq (Inuit)
* Nawpa (Quechua)
* Camac (Quechua)
* Tonalli (Nahuatl/Aztec)
* Yolia (Nahuatl/Aztec)
* Ihiyotl (Nahuatl/Aztec)
* Kurunpa (Anangu/Aboriginal Australian)
* Birrimbi (Yolngu/Aboriginal Australian)
* Wairua (Māori)
* Mauri (Māori)
* Ni (Lakota)
* Nagi (Lakota)
* Inua (Yup'ik)
Middle Eastern & Central Asian
* Nafs (Arabic)
* Rūḥ (Arabic)
* Jan (Persian/Turkish)
* Ravan (Avestan/Persian)
* Kut (Turkic/Mongolian)
* Sünesün (Mongolian)
European & Slavic
* Sawol (Old English)
* Seele (German)
* Âme (French)
* Alma (Spanish/Portuguese)
* Anima (Italian)
* Duša (Russian/Serbo-Croatian/Slovenian)
* Duh (Czech/Slovak)
* Sielu (Finnish)
* Själ (Swedish)
* Heng (Estonian)
* Velyės (Lithuanian)
Faith, as is already proven, but also creativity, or the creative spirit, as I sometimes think of it, make you well. So make make, paint paint, draw draw, play play, cook cook, and always EAT!
Because it sustains you because you must never give up!
