Jaspers ve Kraepelin: Psikiyatri Tarihindeki Bir İhtilafın Yeniden Değerlendirilmesi

Year 2025, Volume: 24 Issue: 2, 863 - 895, 30.09.2025

Mustafa Efe Ateş

Abstract

Felsefeye yaptığı katkılarla tanınan Karl Jaspers, entelektüel kariyerinin erken dönemlerinde psikopatoloji üzerine yürüttüğü çalışmalarla bilinmektedir. Jaspers psikopatolojiye dair fikirlerini ve yöntemini ileri sürmezden önce, kendine kadar gelmiş olan görüşleri titiz biçimde incelemiş, bu görüşlerden bazılarını benimsemiş, bazılarını ise bilimsel olduğu kadar felsefi anlamda da eleştirmiştir. Bu makale, söz konusu eleştirilerden birini, Jaspers’in Emil Kraepelin eleştirisini ele almaktadır. Jaspers, Kraepelin’i iki temel noktada eleştirmiştir. İlk eleştiri zihinsel hastalıkların sınıflandırılması ya da diğer bir ifadeyle psikiyatri nozolojisi ile ilgilidir. Jaspers’e göre Kraepelin’in nozolojisi son derece keskin, mutlak ve katı bir sınıflandırmadır. İkinci eleştiri ise beyin odaklı psikiyatri araştırmaları ile ilgilidir. Jaspers’e göre Kraepelin zihinsel hastalıkların nedenlerini beyinde lokalize etme yöntemini benimseyen somatik görüşe fazlasıyla bağlı kalmıştır. Diğer taraftan, Kraepelin’in kendi ifadelerine bakıldığında, bu türden bir düşünceyi savunmadığı görülmektedir. Kraepelin, Jaspers’in kendisini temsil ettiği gibi, ne son derece biçimsel bir nozolojiyi, ne de beyin odaklı araştırmaların indirgemeci tutumunu benimsemiştir. Bu anlamda Jaspers’in Kraepelin tasviri ile Kraepelin’in gerçek diyebileceğimiz yüzü arasında önemli farklılıklar bulunmaktadır. Makalede Jaspers’in Kraepelin tasvirinin neden uygun bir biçimde Kraepelin’i yansıtmadığı ele alınacak ve sonuç bölümünde bu hatalı tasvire sebebiyet vermiş olduğu iki ihtimal üzerinde durulacaktır.

Keywords

Bilim Tarihi , Bilim Felsefesi , Psikiyatri Tarihi , Psikiyatri Felsefesi , Karl Jaspers , Emil Kraepelin.

Jaspers and Kraepelin: Re-evaluating a Controversy in the History of Psychiatry

Abstract

Karl Jaspers, known for his contributions to philosophy, was also recognized in his early intellectual career for his studies in psychopathology. Before proposing his ideas and methods for psychopathology, Jaspers examined existing views in the field, adopted some, and critiqued others both scientifically and philosophically. This article focuses on one such critique—Jaspers’ criticism of Emil Kraepelin. Jaspers criticized Kraepelin on two main points. The first concerns the classification of mental illness, i.e., psychiatric nosology. According to Jaspers, Kraepelin’s nosology was excessively sharp, absolute, and rigid. The second criticism relates to brain-focused research in psychiatry. According to Jaspers, Kraepelin adhered too strongly to a somatic view, seeking to localize mental illnesses in specific brain regions. However, a close reading of Kraepelin’s own writings suggests otherwise. Kraepelin did not, in fact, advocate a strictly formal nosology or a reductionist, brain-centered view of psychiatry as Jaspers claimed. In this sense, there are significant differences between the real Kraepelin, and the version presented by Jaspers. This paper will explore why Jaspers’ portrayal of Kraepelin fails to accurately reflect the historical Kraepelin. It will also consider two possible explanations for this misrepresentation.

Keywords

Philosophy of Science , History of Psychiatry , Philosophy of Psychiatry , Karl Jaspers , Emil Kraepelin.

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