A Critique of ‘Organic’ and its Proposed Alternatives

Abstract

Objective: A critical examination of the term ‘organic’ in psychiatry and its proposed alternatives. Method: An examination of the published literature on the concepts of ‘organicity’ in mental syndromes, and of the mind-brain problem. Results: The term ‘organic’ presents a number of problems, some of which can be described as those of historical schism, duality, method, practice, scholasticism and semantics. The currently available alternatives are not without their difficulties, and examples are provided. Conclusion: Whether the term ‘organic’ is retained or replaced, we are condemned to an unsatisfactory position while we await a radically new paradigm to understand the role of neurobiological and psychosocial factors in psychiatric disorders.