Life
He was born in Leipzig. He initially studied medicine there, later continuing his education in Vienna under Johann Peter Frank (1745–1821). After briefly studying theology in Erlangen, he returned to Leipzig, where in 1805 he obtained his medical doctorate. In 1806 he became a lecturer at the University of Leipzig, where in 1827 he was appointed a full professor of physical medicine.
Heinroth is largely remembered for seminal work done in the field of psychiatry. His views on psychiatric thought have been described as a combination of anthropology and holistic medicine. He believed that the soul had primacy over the body, and that the body and soul interacted in several ways. Consequently, mental sickness and many somatic illnesses are caused by the soul. In 1818 he introduced the term "psychosomatic" into medical literature.
Heinroth regarded sin as a cause of mental illness. His description of sin came from a 19th century Protestant standpoint, and was also derived from an accepted European code of ethics and morality. His definition of sin wasn't based on a singular event, but rather as a period of several years of an individual striving towards earthly, bodily satisfaction. From a philosophical point of view, Heinroth espoused the teachings of Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803).
In his 1818 textbook Störungen des Seelenlebens he classified mental disorders into different categories. The three main categories were named the exaltations, the depressions and the "mixed states" (Mischung) of exaltation and weakness. He further divided the mixed states category into subcategories called 'mixed mood disorders', 'mixed mental disorders' and 'mixed volition disorders'.
Heinroth died on October 26, 1843 in Leipzig.
Read more about this topic: Johann Christian August Heinroth
Famous quotes containing the word life:
“You might come here Sunday on a whim.
Say your life broke down. The last good kiss
you had was years ago.”
—Richard Hugo (1923–1982)
“The terrible thing about terrorism is that ultimately it destroys those who practise it. Slowly but surely, as they try to extinguish life in others, the light within them dies.”
—Terry Waite (b. 1939)
“Only man thinning out his kind
sounds through the Sabbath noon, the blind
swipe of the pruner and his knife
busy about the tree of life . . .”
—Robert Lowell (1917–1977)