Narrative threads: Karl Philipp Moritz's "Erfahrungsseelenkunde" and Rita Charon's narrative medicine

Abstract

To be sure, the state of medicine today is technologically, professionally and economically different from that of eighteenth century Germany; nevertheless, a continuous, humanistic thread exists and has existed since the ars medica of antiquity. This thesis examines two closely related manifestations of this humanistic push: Karl Philipp Moritz’s late eighteenth-century “Erfahrungsseelenkunde” or experiential (empirical) psychology, and today’s narrative medicine. Until now, the historical understanding of narrative medicine has relied heavily on Freudian theories of psychology; however, I argue that Karl Philipp Moritz’s theory of empirical psychology, as a predecessor to Freudian psychology, offers even more to our understanding of narrative medicine. Naturally, the marrow of this paper will be a definition of narrative medicine and its assorted advocates as well as an in depth examination of K.P. Moritz’s philosophy – one which, like narrative medicine, pushes narrative understanding and capability to the forefront of the healing arts. In addition, it will include a brief appraisal of Moritz’s influences from the German Enlightenment, thus further underscoring the continuity of the humanistic trend leading to narrative medicine.