'I think' (the thoughts of others). The German tradition of apperceptionism and the intellectual history of schizophrenia. Issue 4 (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: De Kock, Liesbet
• Is Part Of: History of psychiatry. Volume 31:Issue 4(2020)
• Page Start: 387
• Page End: 404
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: Apperception -- Emil Kraepelin -- German idealism -- schizophrenia -- self-consciousness; Psychiatry -- History -- Periodicals; Mental illness -- History -- Periodicals; 616.89009
• DOI: 10.1177/0957154X20933827
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0957-154X

Abstract

Although contemporary approaches to schizophrenia pinpoint 'disturbances of the self' as a central aetiological factor, historical insight into the link between accounts of schizophrenia and theories of subjectivity and self-consciousness is poor. This paper aims to overcome this gap by providing the outlines of a largely forgotten but crucial part of the intellectual history of schizophrenia. In particular, the impact of the German tradition of apperceptionism on nineteenth-century accounts of schizophrenia is unearthed. This tradition emerged from German Idealism, and culminated in Emil Kraepelin's account of dementia praecox. In addition to filling an important gap in the historiography of psychiatry, this analysis contributes to ongoing efforts to correct some common misunderstandings regarding Kraepelin's theoretical position.