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Wilfried Ver Eecke's Breaking through Schizophrenia offers an insightful and thought-provoking analysis of the complexities of schizophrenia, proving to be an accessible read for experts and nonexperts alike in the field of psychoanalysis. It draws upon the works of philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Jacques Lacan, and several other renowned psychoanalysts to put forth the thesis that developmental failures, not simply genetic factors, cause psychosis. This compelling hypothesis may seem unbelievable at first, but Ver Eecke's detailed explanation of Lacan's “mirror image” and “paternal metaphor” (Lacan & Fink, 1966/2006) coupled with his careful analysis of Judge Daniel Paul Schreber's psychotic episodes provide ample evidence that schizophrenia can, in fact, at least in part be due to linguistic and psychosocial deficiencies. As a result, his philosophy presents a more optimistic outlook on the condition, for he suggests that those diagnosed with psychosis are not simply lost causes but rather have the potential for a full recovery through the application of talk therapy. Ver Eecke's uncanny ability to incorporate difficult philosophic and linguistic concepts into his inquiry of schizophrenia makes this book an important read for anyone studying mental illnesses.
Most impressively, Breaking through Schizophrenia provides further nuances to Lacan's already thorough explanation of psychosis. Focusing on Judge Daniel Paul Schreber as a case study, Lacan had already grown Sigmund Freud's hypotheses for why Schreber experienced his mental breakdowns and the symptoms that came with it. Freud argued that Schreber's suppressed homosexual feelings caused him to believe he was becoming a woman in order to create a new mankind with God. However, Freud remained unable to explain Schreber's issues with language and his body image, allowing Lacan to step in and extend his own insights on the matter. Lacan (1966/2006) therefore put forth the theories of the Oedipal comple