Ludwig Binswanger was a Swiss psychiatrist and writer considered a pioneer in the field of existential psychology.
It was he who introduced the term Daseinanalysis into the field of psychoanalysis, and with this idea made us see that human beings are open to all experience.
- The patient’s psyche.
- Therefore.
- Is not an isolated entity reduced to its own processes.
- In addition.
- The context in which it is involved and the way it interprets it also defines its behavior.
Few psychoanalytic school personalities were as close as Biswanger and Sigmund Freud and, although they maintained great theoretical differences, they were always astonished.
They maintained abundant correspondence and Freud himself offered him refuge during World War II. Together, each from their own perspective, have enriched the foundations of this therapeutic school.
Ludwig Binswanger was the first existentialist psychiatrist. His roots are based on works by authors such as Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, which allowed him to approach the patient’s reality in a different way.
On the one hand, this reduced vision, where only the pathological aspects of the person were considered; for the first time, the reality surrounding human beings was addressed, as well as their situation and context.
In 1956 he was awarded the Kraepelin Medal, the highest honor in the field of psychiatry, as well as always having the admiration of the cultural society of the time.
Artists, musicians, poets, writers and philosophers such as Ortega y Gasset, Martin Buber or Heidegger himself have a friendship with this key figure in the history of psychology.
“The time has passed when diseases of the mind could be considered diseases of the brain. “? L. Binswanger?
Ludwig Binswanger was born in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, in 1881. La relevance of this European city as a key to the cradle of psychoanalysis cannot be ignored. In the early twentieth century, and at the University of Zurich itself, iconic figures such as Carl Jung and Eugen Bleuler could be seen together.
Both were fellows of Binswanger’s own studies, although, as he would say some time later, Sigmund Freud was undoubtedly the one who marked his professional life.
His friendship lasted a lifetime and was decisive, especially when Binswanger was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in 1912, which provided support and determination.
Overcome this disease, it soon became part of the so-called “Freud Group”, a theoretical nucleus run by Carl Jung himself in Switzerland.
It should be noted that, although he had a firm friendship and admiration for Sigmund Freud, Ludwig Binswanger had his own ideas about what clinical psychiatry should look like.
His particular point of view was far from the most classic psychoanalysis.
Ludwig Binswanger was medical director of the Bellevue Sanatorium in his hometown of Kreuzlingen from 1911 to 1956. This internationally renowned clinic was founded by his grandfather and also served as a framework for innovating on new therapeutic bases.
However, if he is known for anything, it is because he is the first doctor to combine psychotherapy with existential and phenomenological philosophy.
In 1942, he wrote a book entitled “The Basic Forms and the Realization of “Being in the World. “Human In this work he introduces the term Daseinanalysis mentioned at the beginning, where he uses existential analysis as empirical science.
Its objective was undoubtedly the most innovative in the psychoanalytic field, based on the following premises:
Ludwig Binswanger pioneered the creation of the School of Existential Psychology, through which we understand the complexities of human existence and the relevance it may have to the clinical field.
You’ve written about a hundred articles, books, reports and methodological reviews of psychoanalysis, like?Die drei Grundelemente from wissenschaftlichen Denkens bei Freud? (The three fundamental elements of Freud’s scientific ideas; 1921).
He subjected psychoanalysis to a rebirth. He abandoned the methodology used up to that point to introduce the fundamentals of Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology and Wilhelm Dilthey’s hermeneutics.
From this new perspective, Binswanger has taught us that the person is free to build the type of existence he desires.
Are there those who wish to dedicate their lives to art, others to business, some can dedicate themselves to helping others?Existence transcends being and everyone can follow the existential path of their choice.
It defined that there are three very specific types of existence
Another very interesting concept of Ludwig Binswanger was “to be beyond the world”. With this idea, the Swiss psychiatrist has taught us that it is in our power to change the circumstances that cause us discomfort and misfortune. We can do all that because we have free will.
The orientation of thought initiated by Binswanger, the so-called Daseinanalysis (or existential analysis), spread throughout Europe and the United States in a short time, today his figure and legacy being one of the most interesting currents in contemporary psychology.
Ludwig Binswanger died in 1966 in his hometown of Kreuzlingen at the age of 75.