Schizophrenia, Genetics, and Complexity

Abstract

The article raises the necessity of not oversimplifying complex phenomena like schizophrenia, because its ethyology implies the interaction of genetic, biological, and sociopsychologycal aspects. The paper states that genetic knowledge disables the assumption of these radical positions, reason for which the biological investigation acts with caution in the formulation of causal hypotheses. However, the unsuitable interpretation of the results of genetic and biological investigations is shown when the complexity of the phenomenon is postulated but, by an act of cognoscitive simplification, that complexity is neglected and the interpretation moves towards monocausal explanations. The research activity in the field of the schizophrenia faces then the historical responsibility to give to each element its corresponding place in the intrincate network of elements that influence the appearance and development of the schizophrenia.