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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria University, Wellington N.Z. Vol. 22, No. 10. September 14, 1959

Don't Read

Don't Read

We don't even have to read the texts—look at the chapter headings: "What is Schizophrenia?" asks one. There is only one possible answer; schizophrenia is what you define it to be.

And there are the never-ending conflicting theories. The conflicts are usually hard to perceive since the theories themselves are never stated explicitly and are wrapped up in a welter of hastily-added qualifying phrases.

Here are five examples:
1.The theories that dreams are and are not expressions of wish fulfillments. (An example of an ad hoc tag, in in favour of the first theory, would be: "If the dream is clearly not a wsih-fulfillment e.g. starving men dreaming of empty tables, then "reaction-formation" has set in.")
2."Conditioning applied to drives leads to their better functioning." So much for childhood traumata as causes of neuroses.
3."Memorizing is an active process requiring that we attend and intend,"—this knocks the "latent learning" theory on the head.
4.The farcical "cafeteria feeding" theories, in which protagonists on both sides of the fence claim to have proved their case experimentally. (For example of nullification of the principle see "Adv. of Science" Vol. XIII No. 52, p. 269.—When given the option, pregnant ewes chose a carbohydrate instead of protein diet, to the eventual detriment of their offspring.)
5.Ambiguous classification theories such as "Mental illness may be divided into two main divisions—schizophrenia and manic depression" or "Personalities show two distinct types—introverts and extroverts."

These theories are the weakest. Suppose an introvert shows extrovert behaviour, this is said to confirm the theory because introverts are "subconsciously" extroverts. In fact any behaviour can be satisfactorily explained by ascribing the behaviour to a conscious or subconscious cause!

And what is the reaction of the lecturers to all this? They simply put into effect "Operation Eclectikos" and set the students an essay on the topic: "Outline the various theories associated with ..."