The Divided SelfLaing's radical approach to insanity offered a rich existential analysis of personal alienation and made him a cult figure in the 1960s. Yet his work was most significant for its humane attitude, which put the patient back at the centre of treatment. His groundbreaking exploration of the nature of madness, R. D. Laing's The Divided Self, illuminated the nature of mental illness, making the mysteries of the mind comprehensible to a lay audience. This