Chasing the Phantom: Classification

Abstract

Having examined catatonia, we now turn our attention to the broader classification of schizophrenia. This investigation, again spanning much of the twentieth century, will not just throw greater light on catatonia. It will complement, parallel, and at times further contextualise our earlier attempts to form an epistemological understanding of schizophrenia through our exploration of definition, the metaphor of splitting, and the schizophrenia lexicon. In doing so, this investigation will necessarily revisit the thinking of authors and spaces of theorisation we have already encountered, but without duplication. By building up such layers of understanding, we take another step towards a more comprehensive history of schizophrenia. We also resist premature simplification or synthesis of this complex concept.