On Intuition and Intuitive Diagnostics in Psychiatry

Overview

There is no generally accepted definition of intuition. From the natural sciences point of view it is a mentally cognitive ability without realized relation on a discourse thinking and experience. Present psychiatry with its operational classification systems ignores the traditions of intuitive diagnostics, which were developed especially under the influence of Jaspers phenomenologic psychopathology. It was most advocated by H. C. Rumke, a Holland Psychiatrist who developed the term “praecox-feeling”. It is an experience of an experienced psychiatrist, difficult to verbalize, in the contact with a schizophrenic patient. In contrast to the “praecox-feeling” the “feeling of hysteria” is not solely evoked by an intuitive insight. Intuitive “recognoscation” of psychic disorders as well as the totally necessary and intuition-based empathy are common to psychiatric practice, although often unrealized.

Key words:
intuition as a cognitive process, empathy, Jaspers theorem, „praecox feeling”, „hysteria feeling”.