Abstract
Modern views of schizophrenia that have evolved from E.Bleuler’s and K.Schneider’s concepts, along with continuous empirical explorations of the nature of the disorder (mental discordance (confusion mentale) by F. Chaslin, primary defi cit of mental activity and hypotonia of consciousness (J. Berze, 1914), alogical thought disorder (K. Kleist, 1934), etc.), as well as recent neurobiological and genetic research have found no answer to the question whether all disorders of the schizophrenia spectrum are manifestations of the same genetic and clinical condition. In this respect, one may consider that efforts to fi nd a clinical hypothesis capable of interpreting biological, epidemiological and psychopathological features of schizophrenia have not lost their perspective. The proposed hypothesis states that a discrete subpopulation of people possesses a unique genetically determined ‘transcendental’ mode of reality cognition, related to expanding human knowledge by questioning the obvious reality. Because cognition is a main factor of cultural development, and culture is an important factor of human evolution, carriers of the transcendental mode of cognition may turn out to be a necessary part of the general human population owning ‘evolutionary responsibility’ for the transcendental capacity to obtain innovative knowledge. Schizophrenia is regarded as a pathological disturbance in the transcendental mode of cognition in which a pathological interpretation of the obvious is formed. In schizophrenia, the interpretation of reality is based on arguments disregarding the existing obvious. From this viewpoint, clinical and genetic features of schizophrenia are interpreted. The fact that schizophrenia bears a certain biologically meaningful sense is supported by its biological constancy of morbidity, which remains unchanged in all cultures and social circumstances – about 1% of the population. One might also think that the part of general population consisting of individuals genetically endowed with unusual reason is constant as well. Three clinical and psychotherapeutic cases of various disorders of the schizophrenia spectrum are provided in support of the hypothesis.