[Proskynesis and servility as an expression of psychotic behaviour (author's transl)]

Proskynesis as an expression of submission, reverence and awe is deeply rooted in the religious and sociocultural history of man. It may be traced to the old phylogenetic submissive posture in animals, which is a pattern of behavior belonging to the group of survival instincts. Different forms of proskyneses and servility may emerge as an expression of psychotic behavior in man, reflecting a special stage of "archetypical" (C.G. Jung) consciousness. Archetypical conciousness is understood as a special step in the emergence of the human mind, thought and self-consciousness. The freedom of thinking--as the highest function of the human mind--is lost in every psychotic disorder. Archetypical consciousness with its lower stages of thinking may be typical for one kind of psychotic thinking disorder. Diagnostic problems may arise, if one does not recognize the drive of instinctive behaviour which lies behind the mere forms of human costums and religious rites.