[Karl Jaspers: a critique and an alternative].
Karl Jaspers, psychiatrist and philosopher, with his giant opus created a major influence on spiritual atmosphere of this century. In this essay we will explore implications of his philosophy on psychiatry and psychiatrists, with a special focus on the first of his books--"General psychopathology". One of the very first Jaspers' explorations were prejudices in psychiatry. After he had explained mechanisms of their formation, Jaspers analyzes them one by one, selecting six most typical and most important. Based on Jaspers' insight on six prejudices in psychiatry, author of this essay tries to unearth and analyze six tyrannies which threaten psychiatrists and their patients. Tyranny of experience, tyranny of theory, tyranny of matter, tyranny of reason, tyranny of metaphor and tyranny of diagnosis are more than sufficient elements which could turn psychiatry--characterized by openness and broadness--into petrified and sclerotic dogma. We could easily recognize reductionism in background, in which we recklessly rush into and even more stay in.
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Opća bolnica Varazdin, Djelatnost za sveobuhvatnu psihijatrijsku zastitu.
D005858:Germany; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000266:history*; D011599:Psychopathology / Q000266:history*