Introduction to the Phenomena and Their Conceptualization

Abstract

To study and to help schizophrenic persons is to explore the range and depth of the human condition. As a group of people, those persons called schizophrenic represent every nationality, religion, ethnic origin, socioeconomic status, variety of intellectual endowment, emotional experience, and value system that may be encountered. None of their mental or emotional experiences are truly outside the capacity of other human beings, though our fear of them is often so great that we would deny any similarity between ourselves and people labeled schizophrenic. Ironically, the fear that we have in common with schizophrenic persons leads us to deny our similarities with them and makes us unable, therefore, to ascertain the true variations in the human condition that can be meaningfully assessed and how we can be of genuine help.