Schizophrenia by Eugène Minkowski e Ludwig Binswanger

about the loss of vital contact with reality and the eccentricity

Abstract

The aim of this article is to discuss the contributions of Eugène Minkowski and Ludwig Binswanger to the understanding of the nosological entity of “schizophrenia”. A historical reconstruction is carried out regarding its essence: Emil Kraepelin considered it a deterioration of the psychic faculties, while Eugen Bleuler understood it as a split of these faculties (Spaltung). Eugène Minkowski, in turn, considers that the trouble générateur of the disorder is autism; he understands schizophrenia as a loss of vital contact with reality, in which there is a lack of harmony with the environment. Ludwig Binswanger also emphasizes autism, although he does not consider it exclusive to schizophrenia; he speaks of the inadequacy of the network of intersubjectively constituted references, which characterizes schizophrenic eccentricity.