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Genio e follia: Strindberg e Van Gogh
È possibile vedere nella "follia" l'origine del "genio". Oppure il genio per manifestarsi deve avere il sopravvento sulla follia? In questo studio Karl Jaspers, spostando l'analisi dal generale al concreto, e unendo al sapere specialistico nutrito dal contatto diretto con i malati la consapevolezza che "non ci si debba piegare di fronte all'incomprensibile", ripercorre i momenti in cui la malattia entra nella vita dell'artista fino a trasfigurarne l'opera. È il caso di Strindberg, ossessionato dalla mania di persecuzione, creatore di mondi sempre nuovi in cui finisce per distruggersi. Ma è anche il caso di Van Gogh, ripiegato su se stesso e sulla propria tecnica di pittura, in un continuo che lo porterà alle estreme conseguenze artistiche ed esistenziali.
- GenresPhilosophyArtPsychology
214 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1922
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About the author
Karl Jaspers
427 books364 followersJaspers was born in Oldenburg in 1883 to a mother from a local farming community, and a jurist father. He showed an early interest in philosophy, but his father's experience with the legal system undoubtedly influenced his decision to study law at university. It soon became clear that Jaspers did not particularly enjoy law, and he switched to studying medicine in 1902.
Jaspers graduated from medical school in 1909 and began work at a psychiatric hospital in Heidelberg where Emil Kraepelin had worked some years earlier. Jaspers became dissatisfied with the way the medical community of the time approached the study of mental illness and set himself the task of improving the psychiatric approach. In 1913 Jaspers gained a temporary post as a psychology teacher at Heidelberg University. The post later became permanent, and Jaspers never returned to clinical practice.
At the age of 40 Jaspers turned from psychology to philosophy, expanding on themes he had developed in his psychiatric works. He became a renowned philosopher, well respected in Germany and Europe. In 1948 Jaspers moved to the University of Basel in Switzerland. He remained prominent in the philosophical community until his death in Basel in 1969.
Jaspers' dissatisfaction with the popular understanding of mental illness led him to question both the diagnostic criteria and the methods of clinical psychiatry. He published a revolutionary paper in 1910 in which he addressed the problem of whether paranoia was an aspect of personality or the result of biological changes. Whilst not broaching new ideas, this article introduced a new method of study. Jaspers studied several patients in detail, giving biographical information on the people concerned as well as providing notes on how the patients themselves felt about their symptoms. This has become known as the biographical method and now forms the mainstay of modern psychiatric practice.
Jaspers set about writing his views on mental illness in a book which he published in 1913 as General Psychopathology. The two volumes which make up this work have become a classic in the psychiatric literature and many modern diagnostic criteria stem from ideas contained within them. Of particular importance, Jaspers believed that psychiatrists should diagnose symptoms (particularly of psychosis) by their form rather than by their content. For example, in diagnosing a hallucination, the fact that a person experiences visual phenomena when no sensory stimuli account for it (form) assumes more importance than what the patient sees (content).
Jaspers felt that psychiatrists could also diagnose delusions in the same way. He argued that clinicians should not consider a belief delusional based on the content of the belief, but only based on the way in which a patient holds such a belief (see delusion for further discussion). Jaspers also distinguished between primary and secondary delusions. He defined primary delusions as autochthonous meaning arising without apparent cause, appearing incomprehensible in terms of normal mental processes. (This is a distinctly different use of the term autochthonous than its usual medical or sociological meaning of indigenous.) Secondary delusions, on the other hand, he classified as influenced by the person's background, current situation or mental state.
Jaspers considered primary delusions as ultimately 'un-understandable,' as he believed no coherent reasoning process existed behind their formation. This view has caused some controversy, and the likes of R. D. Laing and Richard Bentall have criticised it, stressing that taking this stance can lead therapists into the complacency of assuming that because they do not understand a patient, the patient is deluded and further investigation on the part of the therapist will have no effect.
Most commentators associate Jaspers with the philosophy of existentialism, in part because he draws largely upon the existentialist roots of Nietzsche and Kierk
Jaspers graduated from medical school in 1909 and began work at a psychiatric hospital in Heidelberg where Emil Kraepelin had worked some years earlier. Jaspers became dissatisfied with the way the medical community of the time approached the study of mental illness and set himself the task of improving the psychiatric approach. In 1913 Jaspers gained a temporary post as a psychology teacher at Heidelberg University. The post later became permanent, and Jaspers never returned to clinical practice.
At the age of 40 Jaspers turned from psychology to philosophy, expanding on themes he had developed in his psychiatric works. He became a renowned philosopher, well respected in Germany and Europe. In 1948 Jaspers moved to the University of Basel in Switzerland. He remained prominent in the philosophical community until his death in Basel in 1969.
Jaspers' dissatisfaction with the popular understanding of mental illness led him to question both the diagnostic criteria and the methods of clinical psychiatry. He published a revolutionary paper in 1910 in which he addressed the problem of whether paranoia was an aspect of personality or the result of biological changes. Whilst not broaching new ideas, this article introduced a new method of study. Jaspers studied several patients in detail, giving biographical information on the people concerned as well as providing notes on how the patients themselves felt about their symptoms. This has become known as the biographical method and now forms the mainstay of modern psychiatric practice.
Jaspers set about writing his views on mental illness in a book which he published in 1913 as General Psychopathology. The two volumes which make up this work have become a classic in the psychiatric literature and many modern diagnostic criteria stem from ideas contained within them. Of particular importance, Jaspers believed that psychiatrists should diagnose symptoms (particularly of psychosis) by their form rather than by their content. For example, in diagnosing a hallucination, the fact that a person experiences visual phenomena when no sensory stimuli account for it (form) assumes more importance than what the patient sees (content).
Jaspers felt that psychiatrists could also diagnose delusions in the same way. He argued that clinicians should not consider a belief delusional based on the content of the belief, but only based on the way in which a patient holds such a belief (see delusion for further discussion). Jaspers also distinguished between primary and secondary delusions. He defined primary delusions as autochthonous meaning arising without apparent cause, appearing incomprehensible in terms of normal mental processes. (This is a distinctly different use of the term autochthonous than its usual medical or sociological meaning of indigenous.) Secondary delusions, on the other hand, he classified as influenced by the person's background, current situation or mental state.
Jaspers considered primary delusions as ultimately 'un-understandable,' as he believed no coherent reasoning process existed behind their formation. This view has caused some controversy, and the likes of R. D. Laing and Richard Bentall have criticised it, stressing that taking this stance can lead therapists into the complacency of assuming that because they do not understand a patient, the patient is deluded and further investigation on the part of the therapist will have no effect.
Most commentators associate Jaspers with the philosophy of existentialism, in part because he draws largely upon the existentialist roots of Nietzsche and Kierk
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 29, 2024
Un'opera che analizza la relazione tra genialità creativa e malattia mentale attraverso lo studio di due figure emblematiche: August Strindberg e Vincent van Gogh. Jaspers, filosofo e psichiatra, esamina le vite e le opere di questi due artisti per esplorare come le loro condizioni mentali abbiano influenzato la loro creatività.
Nel libro, Jaspers non si limita a una semplice diagnosi clinica, ma cerca di comprendere la complessa interazione tra la psiche degli artisti e la loro produzione creativa. Per Strindberg, drammaturgo e scrittore svedese, Jaspers esplora le sue crisi psicotiche e il modo in cui queste hanno alimentato la sua scrittura intensa e innovativa. Per Van Gogh, invece , analizza le sue sofferenze mentali e come queste si riflettano nelle sue opere.
Il libro offre una visione profonda e sfaccettata del rapporto tra malattia mentale e creatività, suggerendo che la sofferenza psichica non solo limita ma può anche amplificare l'espressione artistica.
Nel libro, Jaspers non si limita a una semplice diagnosi clinica, ma cerca di comprendere la complessa interazione tra la psiche degli artisti e la loro produzione creativa. Per Strindberg, drammaturgo e scrittore svedese, Jaspers esplora le sue crisi psicotiche e il modo in cui queste hanno alimentato la sua scrittura intensa e innovativa. Per Van Gogh, invece , analizza le sue sofferenze mentali e come queste si riflettano nelle sue opere.
Il libro offre una visione profonda e sfaccettata del rapporto tra malattia mentale e creatività, suggerendo che la sofferenza psichica non solo limita ma può anche amplificare l'espressione artistica.
July 13, 2023
1922 schreibt der Philosoph und Psychiater Karl Jaspers dieses kleine Büchlein über den künstlerischen Ausdruck in Zusammenhang mit Schizophrenie. Beispielhaft legt er es an an Strindberg, Swedenborg, Hölderlin und van Gogh. Ein interessanter Einblick in die psychiatrische Gedankenwelt des frühen 20. Jahrhunderts im Deutschland nach dem 1. Weltkrieg. Die Beschäftigung mit psychischer Verrückung war sichtlich en vogue, Prinzhorn sammelt zur gleichen Zeit in Heidelberg Bildnerei aus Psychiatrien. Jaspers setzt sich hier mit Künstlern aus dem Kunstkanon des 19. Jahrhunderts auseinander, denen er die Diagnose Schizophrenie zuschreibt, eine Zuschreibung, die er ohne zu diskriminieren ausspricht.
Interessant, wie er versucht, die einzelnen Phasen der Schizophrenie auf die Ergebnisse der künstlerischen Tätigkeit umzulegen. Eine nette Zwischendurchlektüre für Interessierte am Thema.
Interessant, wie er versucht, die einzelnen Phasen der Schizophrenie auf die Ergebnisse der künstlerischen Tätigkeit umzulegen. Eine nette Zwischendurchlektüre für Interessierte am Thema.
October 30, 2025
Excelente libro
January 29, 2026
I read this from time to time just to make sure its dark insane beautiful lonely despair is still there
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews