CHAPTER XIII

THE CONTENT OF THE PSYCHOSES 312

Discussion of psychological _v._ physical origin of mental disease--Mediæval conception of madness as work of evil spirits--Development of materialistic idea that diseases of the mind are diseases of the brain--Psychiatrists have come to regard function as accessory to the organ--Analysis of patients entering Burgholzi Asylum--A quarter only show lesions of the brain--The psychiatry of the future must advance by way of psychology--Cases of dementia præcox illustrating recent methods in psychiatry--The development of the outbreak at a moment of great emotion--Delusions determined by deficiencies in the patient's personality--Difficulties of investigation--Temporary remission of mental symptoms proves that reason survives in spite of preoccupation with diseased thoughts--Case of dementia præcox, showing exceeding richness of phantasy formations, and the continuity of ideas.