[Karl Kraus and psychiatry. An assay].

Abstract

This essay deals with Karl Kraus' polemics against psychiatry; not only orthodox psychiatry but also psychoanalysis, which at that time was gaining in importance. The introduction is an appreciation of Kraus' significance for the German speaking civilization. Then the two cases, Louis von Sachsen and Prof. Beer, are discussed in relationship to Kraus' polemics against forensic psychiatry, for in these cases forensic psychiatry was in danger of losing its claim of being scientific and of becoming a supporter of the vested interests or an advocate of sexual repression. It is then attempted to show how aphorisms with universal validity arise out of topical polemics. Kraus' position in relation to Freud and his school is discussed. We try to demonstrate that the similarity in opinion that H. Marcuse assumed about the significance of a sexual economy can only be a superficial one, especially as it relates to sublimation as a mainspring of civilization. Also Kraus' critique of the inferiority complex is delved into. Concluding, we touch upon attempts at interpreting Kraus' work and personality from a psychoanalytical standpoint. Here the term 'narcissistic personality' is discussed.