Schizophrenia and the Other: A Phenomenological Approach to ‘Positive Withdrawal'

Abstract

Background: Schizophrenia, in phenomenological psychopathology, is often described as a self disturbance and sometimes as a disturbance of the self-world relation. This study seeks to elaborate on these concepts by examining the significance of the Other in relation to these disturbances. Method: Levinas' account of the ‘home' will be employed to interpret the phenomenon of ‘positive withdrawal'. Results: Positive withdrawal can be conceptualized as a means to domesticate the Other, and schizophrenia can be described as an alteration or absence of the normal mode of being at home in the world. Furthermore, the theoretic approach seems to suggest that self- and intersubjective disturbances are intimately related. Conclusions: Further elaboration on the phenomenon of the Other and on his relation to schizophrenic illness might provide phenomenological psychopathology with important insights into the nature of schizophrenia and the way the person with schizophrenia experiences himself, the world and Others. This analysis also suggests that psychotherapy could become more effective by developing methods of making the patient feel more at home in the world with Others, and that these methods might need to address the fundamental conditions upon which the patient communicates with and listens to Others.