Paper short abstract:

This paper compares evidence for mental illness with evidence for possession. To what degree do they overlap, and to what degree do they differ? Are the assumptions upon which they are based incommensurable, or are there points of agreement?

Paper long abstract:

The external signs of madness and of possession are rather similar. Unusual speech and behavior, regular attempts to harm oneself or others, seeing and hearing things that others do not see, unusual ways of positioning or moving (or not moving!) the body: such signs may lead mental health professionals to a diagnosis of mental pathology, while the same signs may lead religious specialists to a diagnosis of "possession." In addition to such external behavioral signs, what forms of evidence are sought by mental health professionals on the one hand, and religious specialists on the other, to confirm their respective diagnoses? To what degree do these forms of evidence overlap, and to what degree do they differ. Are the assumptions upon which they are based incommensurable, or are there points of agreement?