The Psychology of Schizophrenia

In the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia the psychologist finds an extraordinary and almost unique phenomenon, in any event, a phenomenon that cannot be compared with anything previously described. It is a unique and extraordinary case of a type of psychological development and alteration of consciousness and its functions that can shed light on the normal organization of consciousness. Most importantly, it can shed light on the normal organization of the relations of consciousness to its functions and on its normal course of development. In this sense, the psychological study of schizophrenia perhaps contains the key to understanding the structure of normal consciousness. In any case, the psychological study of schizophrenia, which has not yet advanced very far, should enable us to approach normal human consciousness from the standpoint of a psychological laboratory experiment.