ABSTRACT
This chapter tries to develop, even if still in a preliminary form, a psychopathology of schizophrenia inspired by constructivism and informed by the logic of complex systems. Psychopathology is a fundamental aspect of the study of all psychiatric disorders. If clinical psychology describes the phenomenal aspects of diverse psychiatric problems, psychopathology aims to identify the mechanisms that underlie the dysfunctions. Delusions constitute one of the key problems in schizophrenia and concern both psychopathology and therapy. In the cognitive field, delusions have catalyzed the efforts of many researchers, even if we are still far from possessing sufficiently articulated theories, supported by convincing and unequivocal experimental data. Even though the dysfunctions of the cognitive processes constitute the most relevant aspect of the psychopathology of schizophrenia, the alterations of affective expression also assume considerable importance in development of this illness. Schizophrenia, in the critical phase that follows apophany, is a condition of chaotic transition, characterized by an increase in the Entropy of Mind.
