Social transformation: Genius and madness and the concept of “death of the ego”

Abstract

We are currently living in an era marked by extreme warfare, economic crises, and deep value conflicts. This landscape reflects, at least in part, a prolonged social obscuration that has increasingly distanced individuals and society from the core values that underpin human identity and the very foundation of a rule-based civilization. Moreover, a growing confusion has emerged between purpose and objectives—a widespread inability to discern the deeper existential meaning of human, social, and organizational life from merely functional goals. Within this context, the concepts of genius, madness, and the death of the self become pivotal. Philosophy and sociology have long explored these dimensions, highlighting their historical and cultural significance. Genius, often misunderstood or resisted, is a figure of rupture and transformation; madness, in contrast, represents an otherness that challenges the rational frameworks and norms imposed by society. Thinkers such as Max Weber (1922), Theodor W. Adorno, and Francesco Alberoni have examined genius as a charismatic leader capable of inspiring and mobilizing
the masses. Michel Foucault, on the other hand, emphasized how modern society has managed madness through rationalization and segregation, revealing a collective inability to embrace what deviates from normative expectations. Today, these themes raise profound questions about the relationship between the individual and society, between authenticity and conformity, and between expressive freedom and social control.