[Basic problems in psychiatry]

The mind-body problem is the basis for discussing the fundamental problems of psychiatry. It is shown in this article that the inextricability of the mind-body problem is essentially conditioned by (apart from other factors) the (non-permissible) equating of philosophical and empirical propositions: psychic or mental = mind and somatic = soma or body. It is an essential fact, as far as psychiatry is concerned, that as a result of this non-permissible equating of the two concepts the mental and somatic "areas" are not differentiated further, which, in turn, leads to the well-known controversies. The consequences of unsatisfactory methodical reflection are illustrated by means of the concept "endogenous"; such insufficient reflection is also involved in the inadequate attempts to humanise medicine or to treat patients in a more humane way.