Is a psychiatric diagnosis relative knowledge or absolute knowledge?

Answer 1

A psychiatric diagnosis (= diagnosis of a mental disorder) is relative knowledge.

Because a psychiatric diagnosis depends on the ideas the doctor applies.

It depends on the view of the doctor. The way he thinks, the ideas he applies, which classification he uses, which theory he favors - in short it depends on the ideas one applies.

If one looks with a different theory at the same case an other result will be obtained.

Therefore in psychiatry knowledge is relative knowledge in any way it is not certain or absolute knowledge.

In contrast in medicine certain knowledge is absolute knowledge - or true knowledge to everybody since it is recognized independently of an idea therefore everybody arrives on the basis of certain objective data at the same result. Such knowledge is called objective knowledge. For example a broken bone can be diagnosed objectively by an X-ray and everybody will agree that the bone is broken.

In psychiatry different persons in general agree if the clinical picture (the complex of psychological symptoms) is typical. If the clinical picture is not typical it happens often that psychiatrists arrive at different diagnoses.

Therefore the subjective basis of psychiatric knowledge often leads to diagnostic problems; or to say it in other words: psychiatric knowledge is limited knowledge because of the ideal basis of the knowledge.

More about this subject on my website - the basic principles of medical and psychiatric knowledge are examined through reference to philosopher Immanuel Kant`s treatise Critique of Pure Reason.