The Intersubjective Dimension of Schizophrenia

The subjective disturbances of schizophrenia have long been established in a coherent phenomenological theory. The intersubjective dimension of the disorder, however, sometimes seems to be underrepresented. This article explores the intersubjective disturbances and evaluates their meaning for our theoretical understanding and explanation of the disorder. First, the work of influential psychopathologists of schizophrenia is analyzed and it is argued that, since the earliest descriptions of the disorder, intersubjectivity and its disturbances have been acknowledged to play an important role. Second, the symptoms, signs, and phenomena of schizophrenia are analyzed from the perspective of intersubjectivity. This shows that both mundane and transcendental inter-subjectivity are essentially disturbed. The problem then consists of integrating the subjective and intersubjective disturbances. I argue that the current phenomenological approach to schizophrenia may need to extend its focus to include the intersubjectivity disturbances more explicitly, and I explore theoretical ways to do so. A possible ‘pathological organizer’ that may succeed in integrating subjective and intersubjective dimensions of the disorder is ‘open subjectivity’.