Foundations of the New Nosology

DSM-III and its revisions have provided little in the way of explicit historical or philosophical foundations. The logical empiricism embedded in its operational criteria and its external approach to validation are inadequate to account for the presumption of nosological regularities or the specific...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of medicine and philosophy 1994-06, Vol.19 (3), p.219-238
Main Author: SEDLER, M. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bioethics
Biology
Bipolar Disorder - classification
Bipolar Disorder - diagnosis
Depressive Disorder - classification
Depressive Disorder - diagnosis
Disease
DSM-III
DSM-IV
History of science and technology
Humans
Life sciences
Medical branches
Medicine
surgery
pharmacy
Mental disorders
Mental Disorders - classification
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
mood disorders
Mood Disorders - classification
Mood Disorders - diagnosis
nosology
Pathology
Philosophy
Psychiatry
Psychological tests
Psychoses
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - classification
Schizophrenia - diagnosis
schizophrenic disorders
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Summary:DSM-III and its revisions have provided little in the way of explicit historical or philosophical foundations. The logical empiricism embedded in its operational criteria and its external approach to validation are inadequate to account for the presumption of nosological regularities or the specific categories endorsed by the taxonomy. The nosologic operation that Jaspers referred to as the “synthesis of disease entities” is explored in connection with the central distinction in DSM-IV between mood disorders and schizophrenic disorders. This synthetic operation is analyzed in terms of the paradigmatic shift from the mania-melancholia matrix of pre-modern psychiatry to the manic-depression/dementia praecox model defined by the work of Kraepelin. In the context of this analysis the self-evidence of these regularities is questioned.
ISSN:0360-5310
1744-5019
DOI:10.1093/jmp/19.3.219