Psychopathia Sexualis

Psychopathia Sexualis (Psychopathy of Sex), by Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing, is one of the first texts about sexual pathology. First published in 1886 in German with the subtitle "with Special Reference to the Antipathic Sexual Instinct: A Medico-Forensic Study", the book details a wide range of paraphilias, with a special emphasis on male homosexuality (the "antipathic instinct" of the subtitle). Krafft-Ebing also coined the terms sadism and masochism in the book.

The Psychopathia Sexualis is notable for being one of the earliest works on homosexuality. Krafft-Ebing combined Karl Ulrichs' Urning theory with Bénédict Morel's theory of disease and concluded that most homosexuals have a mental illness caused by degenerate heredity. The book was controversial at the time, arousing the anger of the church in particular.

The book had a considerable influence on continental European forensic psychiatry in the first part of the 20th century. It is regarded as the definitive text on psychopathology.[1]

In 2006, an independent film based on the book was made in Atlanta; the film was titled Psychopathia Sexualis.[2]

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.