This master's thesis delves into pivotal facets and challenges intrinsic to contemporary descriptive and biological psychiatry. The primary objectives of this thesis are to elucidate the discrepancies that arise between descriptively inclined diagnostic classifications and the empirical findings emanating from biological psychiatry. The work underscores the foundational tenets of biological psychiatry, interrogating whether the manifestation of mental disorders aligns with a rigorously naturalistic portrayal of such disorders as 'natural kinds'. It postulates that the understanding of mental disorders can be enhanced by drawing on the theories of Ian Hacking and Ludwik Fleck; their theoretical frameworks illuminate how the inception of scientific truths is deeply interwoven with diverse sociocultural and historical trajectories. Through the lens of culturally distinct syndromes and historically contingent terminologies, such as melancholia, the study underscores that mental disorders are invariably permeated with sociocultural nuances, which profoundly influence their genesis and evolution.
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