Dissociation, Delusion and the Splitting of the Self in The Trial by Franz Kafka: Phenomenology and Neurobiology of Schizophrenia.
Elisabete Castelon Konkiewitz, Edward Benjamin Ziff
Frontiers of neurology and neuroscience 2018 DOI: 10.1159/000490450 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that Kafka's The Trial parallels phenomenological and neurobiological processes in schizophrenia, including dissociation, disorientation, and delusion, and that these may arise from false attribution of salience and false associative learning caused by dopaminergic hyperactivity. Proposes that the novel induces a quasi-delusional state in the reader, relating this to the brain's need for empathy and predictability. |
Abstract
In this essay, we propose an association between Franz Kafka's novel, The Trial, and phenomenological and neurobiological processes in schizophrenia. We begin by presenting a summary of the plot, pointing to some of its remarkable literary aspects. We next compare the mental processes of dissociation, disorientation and delusion as represented in the novel with phenomenological processes that take place in the prodromal states of schizophrenia. We discuss how such disorders of the self and disorders of thought, both crucial aspects of the schizophrenic experience, appear in The Trial and in other literary and private writings by Franz Kafka. We relate how these disorders may arise from the false attribution of salience and false associative learning caused by hyperactivity of dopaminergic function associated with chaotic firing of dopaminergic neurons. Finally, we show how Kafka leads not just the protagonist of The Trial, but even more the reader to experience a quasi-delusional state. We discuss the relationship between the perturbation of thought and disorientation of mind evoked by the novel in the reader and the need of our brains for empathy and predictability.
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