[Phenomenology in the life work of Karl Leonhard as the climax of a classical view and a starting point of dialectic thought in psychiatry].

The development of Karl Leonhards opinions, and particularly his schizophrenia theory, in the psychiatry of his time is presented in the form of a historical outline. Since the psychosis cannot be regarded as a self-contained phenomena even today, it is necessary to seek correlations, and, finally, causal relationships, with the results yielded by other science. This is shown by means of relationships established to results obtained in psychology, the physiopathology of the brain, genetics, sociology and in research into prognostication and the way in which people come to terms with their illnesses. The conclusion is drawn that Leonhards phenomenology represents an optimum starting point for psychiatry in future.