        METAPSYCHIATRY and PSYCHIATRY,
        METAPSYCHOTHERAPY and PSYCHOTHERAPY -
           A new Theory on the Psyche, Mental Disorders and Their Psychotherapy - in Particular Schizophrenia.

Author: Torsten Oettinger

New 6th improved Short Version. Last updated 2021-01-31. You find the PDF-version with index in: https://new-psychiatry.com,

Abstract
Foreword
M E T A P S Y C H O L O G Y
P S Y C H O L O G Y
- In General: PERSON and PSYCHE
- Specific Information about the I
  - About the Term
  - The Concrete Person and His Analysis of Language
M E T A P S Y C H I A T R Y
P S Y C H I A T R Y
M E T A P S Y C H O T H E R A P Y
P S Y C H O T H E R A P Y
Often used abbreviations
Bibliography of the unabridged german edition
Net References
Author and contact

[I am constantly improving this publication.]

Abstract

Note: The `Summary table´ offers a very compressed textual and tabular overview. The links there allow the reader to quickly switch to the corresponding chapters and to keep the larger picture in mind.

In part 'METAPSYCHOLOGY', I develop a general classification of everything that is psychically relevant.
• First, I hypothesize that everything that is psychically relevant is not only best expressed in language but can also be differentiated in analogy to basic language patterns. That´s what I name the `Differentiations´ .
• Second, I assign certain fundamental meanings to the psychically relevant differentiations mentioned.
Here, the terms the Absolute, the Relative and the Nothing serve as key terms for similar fundamental meanings.
This is what I call the 'Dimensions' of the psychical Relevant. [1]
In part 'PSYCHOLOGY', this general classification is transferred to the person. Again, I start from an analogy between language and psyche. This leads to some new interpretations of person and psyche.

In part `METAPSYCHIATRY´, I also use the classification shown in part `Metapsychology´ and start from the hypothesis that mental disorders are mainly caused by `Inversions´ of the fundamental meanings, the dimensions, mentioned above. I.e., if absolute, relative or 0 meanings (or similar fundamental meanings) are confused, I speak of inversion.
The confusion of such fundamental meanings is ubiquitous. Typical examples are ideologies. These, as well as similar dogmatic attitudes in families or in the individual, occur with claim to absoluteness that absolutizes something Relative and at the same time negates and excludes others. This leads to fundamental reversals of meanings: What was a Relative, now becomes a 'strange Absolute' (sA) and the negated becomes a `strange Nothing´ (s0).[2].
Strange Absolute and Nothing form pairs of opposites, 'all-or-nothing-complexes', which I have generally called "It"and in the person "strange Self" (sS), because these terms describe very well what is meant:
`it'= a general, unspecified cause of an occurrence (e.g. It makes me angry/ sad/ sick ...), `strange Self´= a strange personal center. [3]
These Its, or strange Selves, represent new, strange, independent entities which can cause strange, second-rate realities general and personal and thus also mental disorders.
If the entire psyche (i.e. all aspects of the psyche) is involved in this process, psychotic symptoms may ensue. If, however, these events only affect one or a small number of aspects, then, depending on the nature of these aspects, symptoms will arise which are 'merely' neurotic, psychosomatic, or of another category. In my opinion, these diseases can only be explained if they are based on disturbances in the absolute sphere of a person. If a person can accept problems as a part of life, considering them to be only of relative importance, it is highly unlikely that this person will succumb to a mental illness. However, when 'something' Relative is absolutized and becomes established as an Absolute, this Absolute will function as an It or strange Self which determines the person. This "something" will be given too absolute a status, while the person will be attributed too relative a status. This “something“ will attain too much independence, while the person will become too dependent. This “something“ will become the subject, while the person becomes its object. This “something“ will become personified, while the person will become 'something'. This “something“ will dominate the person and not the person the `something´. This is the “victory“ of the Relative over a person.
To understand the genesis of such disorders, it is important to look into a process, that I name 'Spreading and compression'.
By spreading, every inversion may cause multiple disorders, just as a disorder may be caused by a variety of different inversions.
This process is explained in more detail in part 'Metapsychiatry'.

As described in part 'PSYCHIATRY' and summarized in the 'Summary table', these 'Its' or strange-Selves can cause various diseases.
It is in particular at the example of schizophrenic psychoses that this becomes most obvious. From this point of view, I think the problem of the psychodynamic genesis of psychoses is solved theoretically and in principle.

In part `METAPSYCHOTHERAPY´, I analyze the 'psychotherapeutic quality' of the most relevant worldviews and religions.

In part `PSYCHOTHERAPY’, I examine the most well-known psychotherapeutic schools of thought.
In the chapter `Primary Psychotherapy´, I introduce a theory that is free of ideology and which I believe to be the best against mental disorders.

Foreword

Motto: “He is a doctor who knows the invisible,
that has no name, nor matter but still an effect.” Paracelsus

About me, Torsten Oettinger, the author of this book: I am a psychiatrist-psychotherapist and publish here the experiences and knowledge which I have been able to gather throughout the decades that I have worked in this specific area. I believe that the following texts will open up new perspectives in psychiatry and psychotherapy for the following reasons:

1. In these writings, a new theory of the psyche and its disorders is developed.
2. I investigate the influence of different ideologies and worldviews on the psyche and on 'psycho-theories'.

Ad 1. I classify the psyche and the psychical Relevant (pR) in a new way: I derive their classification from basic patterns of language. This means that I use language as an analogy for the psychical Relevant (pR), since our language is the best tool which captures everything important to us and excludes nothing that is psychically relevant. Therefore, in this study, basic language patterns serve to differentiate the psychical Relevant in general and the psyche in particular. According to their fundamental meaning, these differentiations are then further divided into the "dimensions": absolute or relative - as keywords - (or nothing) or similar fundamental meanings.
[For the special role of nothing, see later.]
This classification includes everything that is psychologically relevant and, in contrast to university psychology, it goes beyond what can only be scientifically ascertained because that is only part of what the psyche is.
(This is thoroughly discussed in the parts `Metapsychology' and `Psychology´.)
"Inversions" (the confusion of existential, fundamental meanings) are seen as the main cause of mental illness.
In the section 'Metapsychiatry', I show how these inversions generate strange Absolutes, which then form second-rate, strange realities such as mental illnesses.

Ad 2. Although different ideologies and worldviews are of great importance to the psyche and psychological theory formation, this is hardly reflected from academic side.(See more to this topic in `Criticism of materialist science and psychology´.)
The reason for this is that psychology and psychiatry are too one-sidedly defined as science.
What is scientifically not accessible will be largely ignored. [4] But the exclusion of such topics leads to deficient theories and therapies and to a strong increase in psycho-practices (`psycho-boom'), which often gives people dubious answers to questions that are not answered by conventional medicine. (See more to this topic in `Esoterism´.)
In my work, I focus more on life itself than merely on science. Therefore, I attend to that which is of ultimate concern for the patients, regardless of whether or not it is scientifically ascertainable.For me, the credibility of statements is the decisive criterion, not their provability - credibility which includes knowledge and experience but is super-ordinate to it. [5]
In this study, basic assumptions (such as philosophies resp. worldviews and religions), which are the foundations of current psychological and psychiatric theories, are critically examined as to their psychological and psychotherapeutic relevance and functionality. Furthermore, I develop a specific theory and psychotherapy which includes subjective and spiritual factors. Thus, the theory and therapy of mental disorders are substantially expanded.
One might ask the polemical question whether our psychology and psychiatry themselves do not suffer from poor health. They seem to be affected by disorders which could be called “scientitis” or “dogmatitis”, since they are too focused on science. In scientific writings, reference is made very rarely to philosophical or even religious insights. According to the 'malicious' words of Karl Kraus: “Psychoanalysis is that mental illness for which it regards itself as therapy”[6] we psychiatrists should ask ourselves in which way our theories might be wrong or even 'in ill health' - or even we have reduced "the diseases of the mind to mindless diseases" (Basaglia).
(For more details, see the unabridged German version.)

M E T A P S Y C H O L O G Y

Introduction

                                                                                             In the beginning was God,
                                                                                                             and the Word was with God,
                                                                                                           and the Word was God … (~ by John 1:1-4)

Definitions and Hypotheses

                • Metapsychology is the theory of everything which is psychically relevant. [7]
                • Everything about which a person speaks or can speak is psychically relevant.
                • The psychical Relevant is best expressed by way of language.
                • General language structures are very suitable as analogies for the division of the psychical Relevant.
                • Psychology is the theory of the personal psychical Relevant.

Based on the multiple meanings of the prefix 'meta' (above, between, behind, beyond), I define metapsychology as a level of analysis above psychology, from which the latter can be surveyed and scrutinized. At the same time, metapsychology comprises and permeates all subjects which are associated with psychology. Among the disciplines connected with psychology are, first and foremost, psychiatry, as well as sociology, neurology, biology, and linguistics. However, I also include philosophy and theology which are partly superordinate.
The main subject of psychology is the psyche. The subject of metapsychology is all that which is important for the psyche, which interrelates with the psyche, has an impact on it and is able to reflect upon it from a higher level. Therefore, metapsychology examines and reflects upon what I name the psychical Relevant (pR). The consideration of metapsychology and its subject-matter, the psychical Relevant, is very adequate since an isolated analysis of the psyche alone neglects very important connections.
In my view, the examination of all aspects of our human existence should be undertaken, rather than limiting our analysis to facts which are only accessible by scientific methods. This means that in addition to all scientific insights acquired by academic psychology, attention should also be given to that which transcends our experiences, which is beyond the demonstrable and perceptible. Thus, all relevant meta-psychical, meta-empirical, philosophical and religious phenomena of existential importance should be considered.
In contrast to this perspective, the notion "metapsychology" is used - following Freud - by scholars of psychoanalysis to describe the dynamic, topical and economic interrelations of psychical phenomena.
Regarding the area of topography, Freud was primarily concerned with the concepts of the Ego, Id and Super-ego; regarding the area of psychodynamics, he investigated the mental forces between these entities of the psyche; regarding the area of economics, he examined the benefits of specific psychical processes for the person concerned.
This study also discusses structural, dynamic and qualitative aspects similar to the psychoanalytic ones. However, these are merely a small part of metapsychology and psychology and are presented from a different perspective. [8]

More generally, one might say, that none of the models provided by conventional medicine are able to transcend the anthropological perspective i.e. they look at the psyche and its illnesses only from a "horizontal point of view", considerably limiting the possibilities of analysis and therapy. In particular, questions that are most important for a person and which have existential meaning are therefore not answered or only inadequately answered. Existentialists, in particular, have pointed this out.
The part "Metapsychology" (similar to the other chapters) will first be discussed in general and then in more detail using concrete examples. At the end of this chapter, I will briefly address some metapsychological topics that are important for this publication. This will only be a selection of a variety of topics, since all topics relevant to the person and examined especially in philosophy, anthropology, psychiatry and psychology, are psychically relevant.
• The first section (general issues of psychical relevance) is subdivided into a horizontal and vertical structure.
Horizontal arrangement: Differentiation of that which is psychically relevant by presenting analogies of fundamental language structures.
Vertical arrangement: The psychical Relevant in its dimensions/ fundamental meanings.
• In the second section, important topics are discussed which are psychically relevant.
The psyche itself is the focus of attention in the next chapter 'Psychology'.

The General Psychical Relevant

Introduction and Classification

In this chapter, that which is relevant to the psyche is investigated. [9]
Abbreviations: the psychical Relevant = pR; or psychically relevant = pr.
Synonyms: psychic(al)/ psychological/ that which is significant, important to the soul/ psyche.

Nearly all things are psychically relevant (pr). It is difficult to imagine an issue which might not be psychically relevant or which could not become so. The term 'reality' might come as close as possible to that which is psychically relevant. If reality were to be defined as that which affects us, then reality is not merely an objective but also a subjective matter.

It is about to differentiate the psychical Relevant (pR) and to arrange its meaning. More precisely, it is about an adequate classification of reality and world, person, psyche, and individual according to its importance for the human him/herself.
[Sometimes, I use in this work for world, person and individual/I the shortcut WPI.]

I divide the psychical Relevant (or the reality) in general after:
• Differentiations
• Dimensions.

Concerning the differentiations I derive from the basic patterns of language both basic patterns of psychologically relevant forms and those of the psyche. I'm referring here to simple grammars of developed languages.
The differentiations represent the `horizontal classification´ of the psychical Relevant.
I use several stages of differentiation and would like to briefly introduce the first one:
The four "main aspects": forms of being, life, properties and their connections are derived from the three main word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives and fourthly from syntax.
These will be further differentiated in the course of the study.

The dimensions represent fundamental meanings of the psychical Relevant.
I distinguish the following fundamental meanings:
- the Absolute (A) = absolute dimension
- the Relative (R) = relative dimension
the Nothing(ness) (0). [For the special role of nothing, see later.]

I use these as keywords for similar fundamental meanings. (Later more)

The dimensions represent the `vertical classification´ of the psychical Relevant.
They show the meaning and position of a psychical Relevant or rather of a respective differentiation.

Taking differentiation and dimensioning together, the following picture emerges:

The psychical Relevant resp. the reality with its units is classified by differentiations and dimensions as by a horizontal and a vertical level. In the horizontal division, basic patterns of language differentiate the psychical Relevant in such as if one would lay a net with coordinates horizontally across that which is to be determined, to order it. This division is designated as horizontal since no evaluative assertion is to be made here as to a specific object's importance and position. Rather, it is the vertical division, the 'dimensions', that provides information about this. Thus, this graph shows the classification of the psychical Relevant through language patterns in specific dimensions.
One can also say: The psychical Relevant is derived from what one can say about reality (persons, environment, etc.) and whether that has absolute or relative meaning or no meaning.

Classification Levels

I distinguish the following 3 stages in the classification of the psychical Relevant
(dimensions and differentiations).

DIMENSIONS	DIFFERENTIATIONS
1st stage of dimensions: the Absolute (A), the Relative (R) and the Nothingness (0).	1st stage of differentiation: 4 main aspects: being, life, qualities, connections (Abbr. BLQC)
2nd stage of dimensions: 7 synonyms of the Absolute and Relative	2nd stage of differentiation: 23 single aspects
3rd stage of dimensions: All terms listed in the overview table, concerning fundamental meanings.	3rd stage of differentiation: All terms listed in the overview table, concerning differentiations.

Note: For the sake of simplicity, I usually only use the 1st dimension stage (AR0) in this script for the dimensions.
Concerning the differentiations, I usually use the 1st or 2nd stage. (More on that later.)

General Differentiations (Analogy Language and the Psychical Relevant)

Language and the Psychical Relevant

“Language is yet more than blood.” Franz Rosenzweig

The differentiation of the psychical Relevant is based on the formation of analogies between patterns of language and patterns of that which is psychically relevant. (This also includes the psyche.)

I repeat: the psychical Relevant can be classified horizontally or vertically. The horizontal division differentiates the psychical Relevant and the vertical division, with its dimensions, provides information about their fundamental meaning.
The differentiations resemble a grid, such as the one we use to zone the earth's surface into longitudes and latitudes, so as to guarantee better orientation. In the analysis of that which is psychically Relevant, it is the language which offers these 'longitudes and latitudes' ('horizontal division'), while the dimensions of the Absolute, Relative and Nothingness provide us with information about the 'altitude' (significance) of the subject-matter ('vertical division'). Initially in this chapter, the differentiation of the psychical Relevant will be discussed in analogy to general language patterns.

No other instrument gives us as much information as language about that which is psychically relevant. Language has not only individual but also general meanings and forms of expression. The psyche with its connections can only be determined indirectly. One can draw conclusions about the psyche and that which is important to it from the behavior of people, their dreams, from culture and art, from the history of mankind, or even from their language and many other sources. Therefore, language is by no means the only means of expression available to humankind, however, in my opinion, it is the most important means to communicate. This seems to correspond to everyday experience.
Do we not learn the most about the world and ourselves from what we say? Isn't language also suitable for drawing conclusions about our inner being? Does language not best reflect the psyche and what is relevant to it? I think so. Language thus appears as a priority metapsychological instrument/medium for making statements about the psyche.

Therefore, it seems natural to see also in basic language structures analogies or homologies for psychic structures and to use them as a classification of psychically relevant facts and the psyche itself.
Lévi-Strauss and Lacan had a similar idea, postulating a `homology´ between language and (albeit merely) the unconscious. [10]

I would like to expand and clarify their hypothesis. I believe:
• Basic characteristics of the language in relation to its structure, dynamics, and quality statements are similarly found in the psychical Relevant and the psyche.
•This also means that the psyche shows similar characteristics to language in terms of its structure, dynamics, and meaning contents.

It seems obvious that in the development of language, general language components and rules of grammar can be understood as reflecting what has been psychologically important to people for thousands of years.
That which is important to humankind has not only been defined by means of words but also by means of corresponding language patterns. By using language in this way, humankind not only denoted specific terms with specific phenomena but also reflected whose connections and functions as expressions of our psyches and their world experience. Therefore, general, basic language components, such as the parts of speech, prove to be excellent analogies for the representation of general psychical relevant and psychical "basic elements" - and the syntax, in turn, gives us in form of subject, object, predicate and their functions point to analogous psychic forms and their functions, and the semantics shows their meanings. Like language, I also see the psyche as a highly-differentiated system that has certain characteristics on the one hand, but on the other is very flexible and always alive. In analogy to the grammar of the language, one could speak of a Grammar of the psyche.
As said, I use in this paper simple grammars of developed languages which are essentially the same in their rules. But here I can only briefly deal with this topic.

First stage of Differentiation

A basic classification which can be found in almost all developed languages is one which differentiates between nouns, verbs and adjectives, as well as, syntactically, between subjects and predicates. The table below shows the resulting psychically relevant analogies.

1st stage of differentiation
F o r m s o f l a n g u a g e		P s y c h i c a l l y r e l e v a n t f o r m s
		`main aspects´ correspond with
word class	nouns	I. forms of being	units
	verbs	II. forms of life	dynamics
	adjectives	III. qualities	qualities
syntax		IV. connections	connections, subjects/ objects

Therefore, what is both psychically and linguistically relevant can be divided into the following four main components: Being, life, qualities and their connections. In this book, they will be utilized as psychically relevant correlates. Their interplay takes place on different stages with different dimensions, which are particularized in a subsequent chapter.
By analogy with language, this differentiation is expanded to include 23 aspects. This is the “second differentiation stage” of that which is psychically relevant, and of the psyche itself. At the end of all differentiations, one would find what all possible pr words represent in their infinite variety.
Thus far, the following analogies were made in the first stage of differentiation:

I. Nouns = being (= forms of being or pr units)
II. Verbs = life (= dynamics)
III. Adjectives = qualities
IV. Syntax = subjects, objects and their connections. Abbreviation: (BLQC)

In the first stage of differentiation, these four main aspects of that which is psychically relevant have been determined.
I believe they also reflect 4 important themes of humanity:
I. Being or not-being, II. Life or death, III. good or evil, IV. subject or object.
These in turn are embedded in the theme of the Absolute.
(See also: Fundamental Problems in Metapsychotherapy).|

Second stage of Differentiation

If we further differentiate the four main aspects mentioned above, a different number of aspects will accrue, depending on the method employed and the stage of differentiation envisioned.
In my experience, further differentiation to the following 23 individual aspects is very helpful:

Forms of l a n g u a g e	SINGLE ASPECTS of psychical relevant forms
I. NOUNS Articles	Forms of being =	Units 1 Everything / Something (Nothingness) 2 God / World 3 People / Things 4 I / Other(s) 5 Personal Spirit/ Soul, Body 6 - / Gender
II. VERBS Modal auxiliary verbs Full verbs	Forms of life = Modalities Activities Times	Dynamics (and Modalities) 7 to be 8 to want 9 to have 10 can 11 must 12 should 13 may, be allowed 14 to create 15 to do, to produce 16 to perceive 17 to reproduce 18 to judge 19 past 20 present 21 future
III. ADJECTIVES	Qualities =	Qualities 22 right, wrong 23 negative, positive

The single aspects of differentiation are differently dimensioned. In the 1st-5th unit in the above table, the aspects with absolute dimensionality are named first,
whilst aspects with relative dimensionality are shown behind the slash. Further explications can be found in the unabridged German version.

The 3^rdstage of differentiation is presented in the Summary table.

The method employed here to categorize that which is psychically relevant or psychological, by determining analogies from language, has the advantage that the single aspects can be expanded indefinitely so that every psychically relevant term can be integrated into the system.
As said, in this study, I predominately use the 1st and 2nd stages of differentiation.

An objection raised against this kind of differentiation argues that there are languages with basic structures that are entirely different. In fact, even for the most advanced languages, there are very different grammatical theories, that differ from the usual simple "school grammar" used here. Doubtlessly, this is a valid objection. However, I believe that, from a certain point, every kind of language and grammar can be used to express what is most important to a person. (Otherwise, adequate translation into many different languages could not be possible.) Therefore, the classification used here is merely one of many possibilities to infer that which is psychically relevant from general forms of language. I intentionally use simple grammar (“school grammar”), since it best reflects the every-day use of language.
Alongside language, that what is psychically relevant is reflected in many ways: It is obvious in our behavior, gestures, facial expressions, art and much more. Yet, none of these forms of expression is as differentiated and yet comprehensible, as is language.

Dimensions

"If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things.
If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success.” (Confucius)
"The word, according to its nature, is the freest among the spiritual creatures but also the most endangered and dangerous. Therefore, watchmen of the word are necessary." Hrabanus Maurus [11]

Similar Ortega y Gasset: " ... it is by no means indifferent how we formulate things. The law of life perspective is not only subjective but rooted in the nature of things ... itself. ... The mistake is to assume that it is up to our arbitrariness to assign things to their proper rank." [In: „Triumph des Augenblicks Glanz der Dauer“ DVA Stuttgart, 1983 S. 75ff. Tranlated by me.]

Explanation and Terms

The dimensions represent fundamental meanings of the psychical Relevant (pR).

`Fundamental´ means that all (and not only certain) psychical Relevants are recorded in their basic and most important meaning.
So you can say that each psychical Relevant (each existence) has absolute and/or relative meaning.
(For inversions of these meanings, see the section `Metapsychiatry´.)
This is not about any assignment of meaning per se, but an assignment that encompasses all that is psychically relevant and at the same time says the most important thing about it. For example, the categories 'right or wrong', 'pleasant or uncomfortable', 'ripe or immature', `rational or irrational´ and similar terms would neither include everything that is psychically relevant nor show their most important meanings.
Similar terms are: existential, basic determining meanings, -reference systems, -scale, -positions, -standpoints, -perspectives, -importances.

In this paper, I use the terms fundamental meanings and basic meanings synonymously.
These are different aspects of the same.

As mentioned before, I distinguish between these dimensions of the psychical Relevant (pR):

• the Absolute (A)

• the Relative (R) [12]

               [Nothingness (0)].
               The nothing plays a special role, which I will come back to. It only exists as a pseudo-nothing (not²), because there is no 'real nothing' (nothing¹).
                   (In my opinion, this would be a consequence of −A).
As said, I use these terms as guiding concepts for the later named `7 synonyms´ (2nd stage of dimensions). More on Nothingness later.
.
The dimensions represent the 'vertical classification' of that which is psychologically relevant. They attribute the respective fundamental meaning to the pr units and differentiations: an absolute or relative meaning.

Comparison of the most important `fundamental meanings´.

absolute
self
actual
whole
unconditional
primary
independent

relative
different
possible
partial
conditional
secondary
dependent

It is the absolute dimension which is the decisive factor. The Absolute and the Relative have thoroughly different characteristics and effects. This fact is important when considering the theory of the genesis of mental disorders.
The Absolute (and the Nothingness) have a primarily "spiritual nature", while the Relative is more material.
Absolute or relative adjectives prove helpful in representing the nature of the respective dimensions. They provide information on whether forms of being and forms of life, qualities and their relationships have absolute, relative or no significance. In this study, the relative dimension is marked by gradable adjectives, whilst absolute adjectives serve to identify the absolute dimension.
[An absolute adjective is an adjective with a meaning that is generally not capable of being intensified or compared. The gradable adjective means we can have different levels of that quality.]

Classification Overview

Overall, I classify the dimensions according to the following categories:
• their `spheres´ (absolute, relative, null = 1st classification stage;
or to the corresponding 7 synonyms = 2nd classification stage),
• their 'rank' (first-rate, second-rate)
• their 'orientation' (pro/+, contra/‒, null)
• their place of occurrence (e.g., dimensions of the world, the person, the psyche, etc.)
(More on that later.)
In this way, each pr phenomenon can be classified according to the following categories:
absolute, relative or null (0); first-rate, second-rate; pro/+, contra/‒ or null, and by its place.

The Absolute

Motto: The ground of things is the unconditioned, the Absolute.[13]

What is it that is our ultimate concern? What is it that affects us most? What, for us, is of utmost importance? Hunger and love? (F. Schiller).
The drives and the unconscious? (S. Freud). The" chow"? (B. Brecht). [14] Religion? (P. Tillich). Genes? Pleasure or reality? Ideologies?
The laws of nature? The views differ. I call it the Absolute (A).
I distinguish
    • first-rate, actual Absolute (A) [15]
    • second-rate, strange Absolutes (sA).

Both types can have positive or negative connotations. (The sA can also be ambivalent.)
That´s why I distinguish
• an actual, positive/ or negative Absolute (+A/ ‒A)
• strange, positive or negative (or ambivalent) Absolutes (+sA, ‒sA or ±sA).
   (More in the section `Metapsychiatry'.)

I believe: the Absolute is the determining spirit of anything psychical Relevant (pR). Similar to nothingness, it can neither be proven to exist nor compared to another matter; nevertheless, it is of existential significance. Since it is the foundation of our spiritual life, it is always with us. Our live rests upon it. We stand or fall with our Absolutes. We live or die through them.
Of course, what is most important to people, or even the Absolute, is very diverse. I believe that every person has their own Absolutes. Subjectively and individually, we have thousands of Absolutes: Gods that we love with all our heart, or devils and enemies that we fear and hate. Some people think safety is paramount, whilst others believe that health is the greatest good. A third group might say that the meaning of life is realized to be good people, whilst yet others are convinced that progress is of the highest significance. Others consider certain individuals to be the most important etc. In this way, every one of us has its own outlook on life and a frame of reference, in the center of which there is an Absolute. Mostly, an individual's parents and the environment have a great influence on the development of this `framework´. Some of these worldviews are known by a certain name, as is the case regarding religions and ideologies but others are not. I have experienced that even individuals who are members of a particular church have a variety of private beliefs which often strongly contrasts with their relevant confession. Therefore, a formal profession of belief in God due to an individual's affiliation with a Church might not be specifically meaningful. Besides their formal religion, they may also believe in money, power, progress, a political party, their father, mother, their wife or simply themselves - and is there someone of us who does not?[16]
However, the most important may also be negative. It may seem most essential to a person not to be immoral, unfaithful, dependent, or not to become like another person. This negative goal then needs to be avoided at all costs, it is considered to be the worst possible outcome, an unacceptable condition, the unforgivable, mortal sin, or the like.
- In my view, all approaches to life, all worldviews, whether formalized or private, conscious or unconscious, have different Absolutes which are the basis of these worldviews and ideologies.
Furthermore, the simple conclusion follows that these Absolutes determine also to which extent an individual is able to cope with their own person, with other people and the world around them. Therefore, these respective Absolutes are also crucial for the genesis and therapy of psychical illnesses.
- Considering the Absolute as the core of the psyche is not a new concept. The philosopher Karl Jaspers claimed that the kind of God a person believes determines his true being. (More precisely, one might say that the kind of God and the kind of devil a person accepts determines their true being.) S. Kierkegaard expressed similar thoughts. [17] Especially psychotherapists of the “Viennese School”
(W. Daim and I. Caruso) were convinced that misabsolutizations are decisive of the emergence of mental disorders. Unfortunately, their work is little known.

Summary

The Absolute (A) is the core of a person's identity. (This concept can be summarized in the mottoes: “I am like my A” or alternatively, “my A is my life”.) In addition, the A is the ultimate creative sphere. Whatever a person places above themselves becomes an Absolute. Though the Absolute cannot be proven, it can be experienced and it is more or less apparent and plausible. It is not possible to prove the Absolute in general, nor is it feasible to prove the Absolute of a person (their Self). It is only possible to believe in it.
In principle, the Absolute is a metaphysical or spiritual category, which means that we can only describe it in words or portray it by using analogies or metaphors, etc. In this sense, it is unspeakable, elusive. It is a priori, a basic assumption. The Absolute is only defined by itself. It is self-explanatory. 18] Different rules and characteristics apply to the sphere of the Absolute than to the sphere of the Relative. (This statement will prove particularly relevant when examining the effects of inversions and the genesis of illnesses, as will be explained in the following chapters.) An investigation of the causes of mental disorders is ultimately (!) a quest for the Absolute.
Similarly, the main and most important answers (therapy) are also found in the area of the Absolute.

The 7 Synonyms of the Absolute (2nd stage of differentiation)

The character of the Absolute (A) becomes more apparent when looking at the origin of the word:
It originates from the Latin word “absolutus” and denotes a matter or subject which is detached and independent.
In this study, I use the following 7 synonyms:

                1. absolute
                2. self
                3. actual
                4. whole, complete
                5. unconditional
                6. primary, first-rate
                7. independent
    The term `absolute´ is the keyword.

Short Systematic Overview

Rank of the Absolute

After the rank I distinguish actual first- and strange second-rate Absolutes.
    [Hint: first-rate and actual, and second-rate and strange are synonyms! I use these different names depending on the topic.]
• To the first-rate Absolutes (A¹):
         - the first-rate positive Absolute (+A¹)
         - the first-rate negative Absolute (‒A¹)
         - and the personal "attitude toward the Absolute", which I will discuss later.[19]
• To the second-rate, strange Absolutes (sA)
            - positive/pro and negative/contra-sA (+sA and ‒sA)
            - strange nothingness (s0 or only 0).[20]
            They play an essential part in the emergence of mental disorders and will be discussed in greater detail in             the following chapters.

Spheres of the Absolute

The first-rate actual Absolute (A¹) has the following parts:

A-center = the core-Absolute is only and exclusively-absolute.
A-external = the external Absolute is relative and also-absolute.

In the first-rate reality, the Relative is co-absolutized by the Absolute, so that this Relative is here `also- absolute´.

Preview: Areas of a second-rate strange Absolute (sA).

Representatives, Places of Occurrences

• Representatives of the 3 actual Absolutes

- Representatives of +A¹:
   God / love as the +A¹; Personal: the + `absolute attitude´ toward the Absolute´.
- Representatives of −A¹: `the absolute evil' and its choice.
- Representatives of the `absolute attitude´: the absolute sphere of person.

• Representatives of strange Absolutes (sA)
   +sA: general or individual +sA parts e.g.
                        ideal of itself = 'Ideal-I' or 'Self-Ideal',
                        ideal of others (e.g. ideal of other people, of the world as idol, ideologies, etc.)
   ‒sA: general or individual ‒sA-parts with absolutely negative connotations (e.g. taboos etc.)
   0 : negated or repressed first-rate matters.

Overview and Preview of Important Terms and Abbreviations

A = the Absolute
sA = strange Absolute
sS = strange Self (the personal sA)
∀ = strange All in an all-or-nothing relations.
0 = Nothingness
It = complex of strange All and 0 (`dyad') or of pro and contra and 0 part (`triad') in the core.
C = general abbreviation for complexes that dominate personal and other areas of reality. [21]

Pro-sA and +sA on the one hand and contra-sA and ‒sA on the other hand will be viewed as equal throughout this book.
The terms will be explained in detail in the section 'Metapsychiatry”.

The Relative

The Meaning of the Relative [22]

The Relative is created by the Absolute. The Relative is subordinate to the Absolute. It has a relative meaning in relation to it. Other than the Absolute, which only has one meaning and is first-rate, the Relative has a great variety of meanings. Relative would, strictly speaking, only be described in comparative terms. It could be compared to the interpretations of dreams or of symptoms, which are also not limited to one single specific meaning. So basically, you cannot think of the Relative as an independent. When we use the term “the Relative”, we should actually say “the Relative of the Absolute”. Therefore, the Relative is not as independent as the term might have you expect. The word relative mainly describes a relation. The Relative cannot exist without the Absolute, in a similar way as there is no part without the whole - just as no illness exists in isolation from the affected person - or it is said, it would have a relatively independent existence.The Relative can be proved, the Absolute may only be believed. [23]
The Relative is best defined from the Absolute.
The first-rate relative sphere forms a continuum with its components but our language divides this continuum into separate entities. This also applies to the classification of diseases.
Contrary to the Absolute, the Relatives can only be in a relative opposition. I.e., two Relatives can only be set in relative opposition to each other. Therefore, there is no dualism or absolute opposition of body and soul, health and illness, subject and object and so on in the first-rate reality.
Absolute opposite and separation only exist between +A and ‒A.
The Relatives as strange Absolutes (sA) however, can be of absolute relevance to the individual. Then they are not only ambiguous but often appear to be contradicting and paradoxical.
The qualities of Relatives are not absolutely distinct, which means that something that usually has a negative meaning, can appear positive (and vice versa) - i.e. everything Relative has one relative positive (+) and one relative negative (‒) side, or several of these sides. There is no Relative that is solely positive or negative. Then it would not be relative but absolute. The sayings: “Everything (Relative) has two sides” and “Everything has its advantages and disadvantages” are well-known. This fact is also important when it comes to mental disorders, which are also Relatives. It relativizes the statement that illness and its causes are solely negative and health and its causes are only positive. Only God, more or less also the first-rate Self, spirit, and life can be seen as actual Absolutes. The terms “person”, “personality” and “self” can be used best to show the Absolute part of a person. Also, terms such as sense, truth, fairness, dignity, freedom, and love are indicators for the actual Absolute.
Terms such matter, body, thing, object, the worldly or functions are important representations of the Relative.

7 Synonyms of the Relative (2nd stage of differentiation)

Just as I named 7 synonyms of the Absolute in the 2nd stage of differentiation, I also name 7 synonyms of the first-rate Relative:
The Relative (compared to the Absolute) is:

1. relative, relational
2. different
3. possible
4. partial
5. conditional
6. secondary
7. dependent [24]
The term `relative´ is the keyword.

Preview: For comparison, the most important characteristics of second-rate Relatives (R²).
For their identification I mostly use the left, first mentioned forms.
(See also in the Summary table columns I and L, lines 1-7. Character of the sA ibid. Column K, lines 1-7).

            1. inadequate/ hyperabsolutized/ unrelated
                2. strange/ hyperidentical/ without identity
                3. unreal/ hyperreal/ essenceless
                4. split/ one-sided/ detached
                5. accidental / determined/ undetermined
                6. second-rate/ extreme/ unconnected
                7. too heteronomous/ pseudoautonomous/ detached.
       More on that later.

Assignment of certain absolute and relative aspects (Tab. 4)

Absolute	Relative
absolute self actual whole unconditional first-rate (primary) independent	relative different possible partial conditional secondary dependent

More about 'The Absolute and Relative in comparison' - see unabridged German version.

Symbols which Show the Relations between A and R

(Fig. 5) These symbolic pictures show the priority of A compared to R (from left to right):
The Absolute is the center/ the superordinate/ the basis/ the primary/ and the comprehensive.
According to it, the Relative is the peripheral/ the subordinate/ the superstructure/ the secondary and the limited. Nothingness is outside of AR.

The Nothingness (0)

I believe that the actual nothingness is a result of the negative Absolute.
The strange second-rate nothingness may be seen as a result of the sA or else as a category of second-rate realities. Something became worthless, meaningless, nothing, null, void, negated, etc.
(See also `Genesis of the nothingness´).

General Units/ Systems

Terms/ Definitions

I distinguish the following pr systems/units that will be described more specifically later on:
(I denote the more absolute before the Relative).
1. Everything, All - Something 2. God - World 3. People - Things 4. I - Others 5. Spirit - Body, Mind.

If you look at the dimensions, there is an absolute and a relative area in every system/ unit. In the absolute area, there are one or more Absolutes. If it is a first-rate pr system, there is only one actual Absolute.
Is it a strange, second-rate pr system however, there will be at least two if not more strange Absolutes.
Shortcut: system, unit = Σ
(The terms unit and system are used synonymously here for the sake of simplicity.)

World, Person and I

“That I recognize what the world holds together in the innermost.” Goethe, Faust.

The world, the person and the I (= WPI) are made of one first-rate reality and a lot of second-rate realities. Whether our world is „the best of all possible worlds“, as Leibniz said, or whether one is, as Schopenhauer (and Buddha) said, stricken by “the sorrow of life“, or the person is considered good or bad - philosophers have very different opinions about that. I think everything from ‒A to +A is represented, although most of them are probably somewhere in between. I.e., people live in a world between heaven and hell - sometimes belonging more to one side than the other. This is a world that will always be in need of redemption, just as we are.
A commonality of all realities/ systems (Σ) is that they are determined by different Absolutes (A or sA).

Fig. This illustration shows how different systems
can be interconnected by equal absolute spheres.



                    For details on the following topics see the unabridged German version:
                   Basic relations in pr realities / systems.
                   Relations between spirit, psyche and matter.
                   Interplay of general language forms and differentiations.
                   Relations between various pr units.
                   Human between +A / ‒A and R.

Summary

In the chapter 'Metapsychology', you will find the introduction of the classification of any kind of psychical relevant topics.
The classification has a vertical and a horizontal axis. The vertical axis consists of dimensions of the Absolute, Relative and nothingness. The differentiations make up the horizontal axis. These are deduced from fundamental forms of language.
All psychical relevant realities have specific dimensions and differentiations, where the absolute dimension determines the specific reality. It is divided into first-rate and second-rate, strange dimensions and thus, into a first-rate and second-rate realities.
Usually, those have very different characteristics. Here, the second-rate strange realities (particularly the second-rate psychical) form the most important basis for the development of mental disorders.

One can say:
1. General: Metapsychology, or what is psychologically relevant, has to do with existential, fundamental meanings whose main representatives are the Absolute, the Relative and the nothingness, and with what nouns, verbs and adjectives represent - i.e. with "structures" (forms), "movements" and "qualities". And psychically relevant connections have something to do with what subjects, objects and predicates represent (1st classification stage).
2. The `2nd classification stage´ corresponds to the first vertical column of the Summary table.
In keywords: Metapsychology or the psychical Relevant (as well as the psyche) has to do with:
The Absolute, with sense, with identity, truth, unity (wholeness), unconditionality (security), causes, independence (a1-a7); Further with: Everything and nothing, God and the world, I and other people, spirit, mind and body, gender, conditions, aspirations, ownership, necessities, obligations, rights, the new and the old, actions, information, portrayals, meanings, mistakes, the past, the present and the future, with qualities and with all `movements', i.e. actions and processes that are connected to them.
They all can have (actual or strange) absolute, relative or no importance.
3. To the `3rd classification stage´, one could allot all pr terms of the Summary table
4. Infinitely differentiated, one could say: metapsychology or everything psychically relevant or the psyche ultimately has to do with every psychical relevant word and sentence.

For me, it was most useful to use the usual grammar as a basis for analogies in order to differentiate psychically relevant things. Thus the used classification appears, like the language itself, as an open system, which can be extended or changed if necessary.
It seems to me that this categorization, therefore, offers considerably more possibilities than the usual classifications in psychology and psychiatry to represent something psychically relevant in general or the psyche in particular.
The attention to the existential basic meanings of the psychologically relevant ("dimensions") and the presentation of their confusions is, in turn, beneficial for understanding the genesis of mental illness.

Summary of the Dimensions and Differentiations and their Classification

L A N G U A G E			P S Y C H I C A L R E L E V A N T
Comparation (Comparative forms of adjectives)		absolute / and relative adjectives	DIMENSIONS (absolute and / relative)
			a1 absolute / relative a2 self / different a3 actual / possible a4 whole / partial a5 unconditional / conditional a6 primary (first-rate) / secondary (second-rate) a7 independent / dependent
			MAIN ASPECTS (General Differentiation)
Word class		Nouns Verbs Adjectives	Being Life Qualities	I Units: Spirit / Matter II Dynamics: Life / Functioning III Qualities: abs./ relative Qualities
Syntax			Contexts	IV Contexts: Subjects/ Objects
			SINGLE ASPECTS (Single Differentiation)
	NOUNS		Forms of being	Units 1 All / something (nothing) 2 God / world 3 People / things 4 I / other(s) 5 pers. spirit / soul, body 6 Gender
	VERBS Modal auxiliary verbs		Forms of life Modalities	Dynamics (and Modalities) 7 to be 8 to want 9 to have 10 can 11 must 12 should 13 may, be allowed
	Full verbs		Activities	14 to create 15 to do, to produce 16 to perceive 17 to reproduce 18 to judge 19 past 20 present 21 future
	ADJECTIVES		Qualities	Qualities 22 right, wrong 23 negative, positive

Individual Metapsychological Topics

Here, I focus on the topics of the `2nd classification stage´. I will try, in particular, to find answers to the following questions:
Which are the most important psychical relevant (pr) topics? What is reality, truth, freedom, the Self, the I and so on?
Is there only one reality, just one truth, one freedom, one Self, etc.? Or are there a lot of them: a lot of realities, a lot of truths, a lot of freedoms, many Egos and Selves? And if so, what are they?

General Hypotheses

In this chapter, I distinguish with regard to every specific, psychical relevant topic between absolute and relative forms and between first-rate (= actual) and second-rate (= strange).
• The first-rate forms consist of only one +Absolute (divine/ celestial form), which comprises many relative forms.
• The second-rate forms consist of many strange absolute and strange relative forms. Here, the strange absolute forms are separated into two opposites and one zero part. (Why this is so, I explain later.)
So I distinguish between one first-rate Absolute (+A), which forms with its Relatives (R¹) a manifold unity: one first-rate reality/ world (W¹) - and on the other hand many second-rate, strange Absolutes (sA) with many second-rate, strange Relatives (R²) which create diverse second-rate realities/ worlds (W²).|
(These statements are basically statements of belief, although a lot of the specific literature gives the impression that this is not the case..
Phrases like “there is no absolute truth!” can be found often. However, the author should say: “I believe, that there is no absolute truth!”)

Regarding the Dimensions

In the following section, the 7 aspects of the dimensions are sequentially ordered (`2nd stage of dimensions).
What applies to +A and the sA, also applies to their synonyms: therefore to first-rate or second-rate identity (a2), first-rate or second-rate actuality, truth (a3), first-rate or second-rate unity (a4), first-rate or second-rate unconditionality/ safety (a5), first-rate or second-rate causes (a6) and first-rate or second-rate autonomy and freedom (a7). They will be specified further in the following.
At each first-rate aspect, I mention a `Meta'-term. So I want to make it clear that this first-rate meta-stage is the highest, includes everything Relative and is stronger than any sA, which have only relative importance from this perspective.

Solutions (a1)

The Absolute and the Relative were discussed above in `hypotheses' and as `general conceptions' in chapter `Dimensions'
(1st stage).
In relation to their (main?) function one can say:
• There is one first-rate absolute solution (= salvation and redemption) and many first-rate relative solutions.
• In contrast, there are many second-rate solutions: second-rate (pseudo-) absolute, when a relative solution has been absolutized, or second-rate relative, when other solutions have been derived from a pseudo-absolute solution. (For details, see section `Solutions´)