Sydney Ideas Key Thinkers Series

EMIL KRAEPELIN AND THE ORIGINS OF MODERN PSYCHIATRY
Dr Dominic Murphy, History and Philosophy of Science, Faculty of Science

One hundred years ago, Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926) was the most influential psychiatrist in the world, revered as the man whose system of classification put the study of mental illness on firm scientific foundations. We owe to Kraepelin the distinction between schizophrenia (which he called premature dementia) and manic-depressive illness. Kraepelin saw mental illnesses as distinct processes with characteristic outcomes, ultimately rooted in the biology of the brain. His ideas were eclipsed by psychoanalysis, but have returned to serve as the basis of contemporary psychiatry, which is often called neo-Kraepelinian. This lecture will explain Kraepelin's approach to psychiatry and his influence on modern psychiatry, and discuss why some contemporary theorists think that his influence is keeping psychiatry on the wrong track.

Bookings: Free events, no registration or booking required

For more information see the website: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas