Thread by @DrWinarick

For some reason, it is common practice when tracing the history of modern day personality disorder categories to go back to antiquity (specifically, the Hippocratic-Galen theory of four humors w/each humor bearing some concept overlap w/modern psychology & PD classification). 1/

So who am I to buck such a trend? I went for it & traced the history of schizoid PD back to the phlegmatic humoural type & perhaps also an amalgamation of traits depicted by Theophrastus’ characters. 2/

Every diagnostic construct in modern day psychiatry can be traced back to these traditions: Ancient Greek medicine & what some MFer they call Roback said is “literary characterology” aka literature. At different points in time, one or the other of these approaches has 3/

dominated the ranks of those writing diagnostic manuals, academia, research, & practice. Each tradition evolved into the descriptive psychiatric tradition (Kraepelin) or the dynamic psychiatry tradition (Freud), respectively. 4/

Ht to @JRBneuropsiq for bringing the narrative approach back to psychiatry and repping Theophrastus in the world of hard nosed neuroscience research. Ht to @AllenFrancesMD for carrying on the descriptive tradition w/major improvements. Ht to @JonathanShedler for integrating both/

*Some notes on the validity of tracing the historical evolution of PDs in the DSM back to antiquity. It is basically taken for granted & not even considered citation necessary to make the point that each humor corresponded to a different personality trait as though Hippocrates

had conceptualized metaphorical humours. He did not. Hippocrates was very literal re the humours - no link to personality just too much or too little phlegm, blood, & bile (yellow or black). Some said Galen retranslated the literal physical referents to psychological-personality

based constructs. This is also false. Galen didn’t do that. He simply followed humoral theory as laid out by the old man. So who put the personality into humoural Greek medicine? I was surprised and fascinated to learn it was non other than Emmanuel Kant in a book w the title

Something something “anthropology.” That is all. Thought some of y’all would like some hardcore nerd shit right about now. Read #Roback. Will knock you on your ass. #HistPsych

There is actually nothing ironic in the thread but I wanted a gif with both of them in the shot to prime the Howard Zin.

*book.