I am in the process of writing a paper on schizophrenia from a historical perspective. The problem with this topic is that there are no documented cases of schizophrenia until the late 1800's. I was wondering if you could suggest any sources that discuss the mind-body dilemma, hinting toward symptoms of schizophrenia. The catch is that all sources have to be dated before the 20th century. Any suggestions would be helpful. Adrienne Sage Nazareth College

-- Adrienne Sage (abs1980@aol.com), March 04, 2004

Answers

For two opposing views, read Louis Sass' (1982) _Madness and modernism: Insanity in the light of modern art, literature, and thought_ and Walter Henrichs' (2001) _In Search of Madness: Schizophrenia and Neuroscience_. Contrary to Sass's (and others') claims, one of Heinrichs' students, Pete Economou, seems to have found fairly clear cases of what we would now disgnose as schizophrenia in the criminal trial records of London's "Old Bailey."

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), March 04, 2004.

Something you must consider is that the term "schizophrenia" appears to have been introduced in the 20th Century (circa 1910 by E. Bleuler according to the Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition). The term schizophrenia overlapped with "dementia praecox" and eventually replaced it(the latter was introduced only a few years earlier by E. Kraepelin; OED 2e).

Yet, for example, Zilborg, G. (1941; A history of medical psychology. New York: W.W. Norton Co.) discussed the likelihood that Socrates (c. 470-399 BC) was a schizophrenic, based on reports of his behavior and modern definitions of schizophrenia. I am not an expert in this area, but it seems to me that you need to examine sources such as Zilborg's book (and there were later editions) to gain an appreciation of older terminologies asssociated with the behavioral manifestations of what was called "schizophrenia" and dementia praecox in the 20th Century. There are other histories of psychiatry that you might consult. Two more on my bookshelf are:

Alexander, F. G. & Selesnick, S. T. (1966). The history of psychiatry. New York: Harper & Row.

Roback, A. A. & Kiernan, T. (1969). Pictorial history of psychology and psychiatry. New York: Philosophical Library, Inc.

No doubt there are many others.

-- Roger K. Thomas (rkthomas@uga.edu), March 04, 2004.

After I posted my initial answer, I found a nice summary chapter titled, "Development of Our Modern Views of Abnormal Behavior," that may be useful to you. It begins with speculations concerning cave men (based on paleontological evidence of trephining thought to be done to release "demons" from the head), and it has information based on biblical accounts, early medical concepts of mental illness dating to Hippocrates, etc. The chapter is in:

Coleman, J. C. (1956). Abnormal psychology and modern life. Second Edition. Chicago: Scott, Foresman & Co.

The second edition is the one that I own and have examined. There were later editions that I have not examined. If you cannot easily locate a copy and would like to have the chapter, I will send you a photocopy if you send me a mailing address. This offer is good only for Adrienne Sage!

-- Roger K. Thomas (rkthomas@uga.edu), March 05, 2004.