What Is Schizophrenia?

What is schizophrenia? Lately, there has been a proliferation of diagnostic criteria, and generally a more optimistic view of the outcome of schizophrenic illness, seen as a curable illness. Some researchers expect that the aetiology of schizophrenia, largely unknown now, will be understood soon, whereas others do not expect this to happen, at least not in the near future. But most workers in the field assume now that schizophrenia is aetiologically heterogenous, and that it will eventually be broken down into several sub-populations. Schizophrenia may consist of complex interactive processes for which there is not one cure, such as a shot of penicillin, that would simply eliminate it. It brings up the question: is schizophrenia a disease? The question is not easy to answer and soon calls for another question: what is a disease?;The theme of this book is the search for a definition of schizophrenia which would encompass its essential characteristics. While more optimistic views of schizophrenia and its outcome dominate the field now than in the past, there is still great controversy on the nature of its aetiology, still largely unknown, its boundaries, and its nature as a disease.