ABSTRACT
An untethered person can shake off outmoded ethical demands, indeed all unwanted ethical demands, and really live, unencumbered by responsibilities, unconstrained by others. It sounds appealing. Being untethered allows Hugh to focus on internal states and develop a kind of connoisseurship of his positionality. Anthropologists have shown enthusiasm for illness narratives. Thinking in terms of untethering places a value on freedom conceived of as personal liberty and calls attention to how freedom might be pursued. Hugh rejected the psychiatrist’s range of medication, and his life continued. He is excited, feels super-fortunate. He is in the right place at last, but also he is making good social connections and is trusted. Psychosis can look like performance art. A person that can be tethered or untethered is necessarily distinguishable from their environment.
