Making the Case: The Narrative Psychological Case-history and the Invention of Individuality in Germany, 1750-1800

424 Pages·2019·3.818 MB·English

by  Robert Leventhal

RobertS.Leventhal
MakingtheCase
Interdisciplinary German
Cultural Studies
Edited by
Irene Kacandes
Volume 25
Robert S. Leventhal
Making the Case
Narrative Psychological Case Histories
and the Invention of Individuality in Germany,
1750–1800
ISBN978-3-11-064267-4
e-ISBN(PDF)978-3-11-064346-6
e-ISBN(EPUB)978-3-11-064279-7
ISSN1861-8030
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2019939360
BibliographicinformationpublishedbytheDeutscheNationalbibliothek
TheDeutscheNationalbibliothekliststhispublicationintheDeutscheNationalbibliografie;
detailedbibliographicdataareavailableontheInternetathttp://dnb.dnb.de
©2019WalterdeGruyterGmbH,Berlin/Boston
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For Joseph C. Miller (1939–2019), a true friend and fellow sailor, who on our
manyvoyagesandadventuressharedwithmehispassionforhistoricalresearch
and incredible range of learning, listened and responded to the ideas and argu-
mentspresentedinthesepages.

Preface
Thisbookhasbeenalongtimeinthemaking.WhenIreturnedtoteachingand
researchin2004afteratenyearhiatus,Ibecameinterestedinthepsychologi-
calcase-historybeforeFreud,andbeganwiththenineteenth-centurycasehis-
tories in the forensic medicine of Johann Ludwig Casper (1796–1864) and the
clinical psychiatry of Carl Westphal (1833–1890). For two summers, I was able
to pursue this research thanks to two Summer Grants from The College of
William and Mary and the hospitality of the Institut für die Geschichte der
Medizin at the Humboldt Universität, Berlin. In particular, several workshops
ledbyVolkerHessandEricEngstromhelpedmehonemyideasaboutthepsy-
chological case-history developed and expanded in these pages. In 2009 and
2010, I was fortunate to receive a research grant at the Herzog-August-
BibliothekinWolfenbütteltogettotheprimarysourcesintheeighteenthcen-
tury. I would like to specifically thank Dr. Jill Bepler, who made my and all of
thefellows’staythatyearsowonderfullyrichinconversationandexploration.
At the College of William and Mary, my Chairs Silvia Tandeciarz and Maryse
Fauvel,myDeansCarlStrikwerdaandKateConleyalwayslentahandtomake
possibleresearchtripsorattendanceatconferencesinEurope,asdidtheVice
Provost for Research Dennis Manos and The Reves Center for International
Study.
In addition to the institutions mentioned, I would like to thank many col-
leagueswhohelpedmeclarifymythinkingandwritingaboutthenarrativepsy-
chologicalcase-historyalongtheway:LornaMartens,JoachimGessinger,Robert
Sackett, Sander Gilman, Giulia Pacini, Christof Wingertszahn, Carsten Zelle,
Alexander Košenina, Ron Schechter, Liliane Weissberg, Wolfert von Rahden,
MichaelPrince, Jerome McGann, and JoelBlack.Furtherback, IanHacking and
David Wellbery were both instrumental in shaping the contours of my thinking
abouthowindividualsandindividualityweremade.Manyverydearfriendsover
the years helped in ways they probably cannot even imagine: Jeff Bokor, Jay
Field, Joe Miller, Ernstfriedrich Jünger, Lawrence Fischman, John Wade, and
Rafael Triana. I would also like to express deep gratitude to Maurice Apprey,
whosewisdomandinsightwerecrucialinmyreturntouniversityteachingand
research.
Some of the work presented here is revised and expanded from articles
Ipublished2008–2012.AnearlierversionoftheSchillerchapterappearedas“The
Aesthetics of the Case: Schiller’s Juridical-Psychological Contribution” in The
Aesthetics of Modernity from Schiller to Marcuse, edited by Jerome Carroll, Steve
GilesandMaikeOergel(NewYork/Berlin:PeterLang,2011),69–92.Iwouldliketo
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110643466-201
VIII Preface
thankJeromeCarrollinparticularforhiseditorialassistancewiththatpiece.“Die
FallgeschichtezwischenÄsthetikundTherapeutik,”inFakta,undkeinmoralisches
Geschwätz:DieFallgeschichtenimMagazinzurErfahrungsseelenkunde(1783–1793),
ed. Stefan Goldmann, Sheila Dickson, and Christof Wingertszahn (Göttingen:
Wallstein, 2011), 63–81, was a talk delivered at a conference in Potsdam bearing
the title of the volume. “Vorstudien zur Hysterie: Marcus Herz’s Etwas
Psychologisch-Medizinisches. Moriz Krankengeschichte (1793),” in: Kulturen des
Wissens. Studien zum 18. Jahrhundert, ed. Ulrich Johannes Schneider (Berlin and
New York: de Gruyter, 2008), 431–440 was a presentation at the Deutsche
GesellschaftzurErforschungdesachtzehntenJahrhundertsConferenceinHallein
2010.Lastbutnotleast,someofthematerialofchapter1appearedin“Kasuistik,
Empirie und Pastorale Seelenführung: Die Entstehung der modernen psychologi-
schen Fallgeschichte, 1750–1800,” in Jahrbuch Literatur und Medizin, ed. Bettina
vonJagowundFlorianSteger(Heidelberg:CarlWinter,2008),13–40.Thankstoall
the readers and editors for their detailed comments and suggestions, and to the
publishers for giving me permission to rework and re-present this work in what
Ihopetobeacoherentformwithasustainedargument.
IwouldalsoliketoexpressmythankstothetworeadersatdeGruyterwho
offeredmanyconstructivecriticismsandsuggestions,andhelpedmetosculpt
theoriginalmanuscriptintoamoreunifiedandcoherentbook.Theseriesedi-
tor, Irene Kacandes, was incredibly supportive and enthusiastic of my effort.
Sam Brawand brought a sharp eye in the phase of copyediting and proofread-
ing,andpreparedthebasicindexwhichIthenexpandedandfilledout.
I would like to express my special gratitude to my daughters Alethea,
Chelsea, and Miran, and to Janet Warren, my best friend and soulmate, who
encouragedandassistedmeeverystepoftheway,alwaysreadytolendanear
orakindword.
R.L.
Castelmuzio(SI),Italy
May2017
Contents
Preface VII
ListofFigures XI
ANoteonTranslations XIII
Introduction 1
1 HistoricizingthePsychologicalCaseHistory 21
2 TheorizingthePsychologicalCaseHistory 69
3 DiscipliningtheHumanSoul:GermanEmpiricalPsychologyinthe
EighteenthCenturyfromChristianWolfftoKant 107
4 Ethnicity,Gender,Religion,andMadnessinMid-Eighteenth-Century
Germany:ACaseHistoryofDemonicPossessioninLowerSaxony,
1744 147
5 TheFirstModernPsychologicalCaseHistory:MarcusHerz’s
PsychologicalDescriptionofHisOwnIllness(1783)andthe
ConstructionoftheModernSoul 191
6 FriedrichSchiller:TheJuridical-PsychologicalCaseHistory
asaLiteraryWorkofArt 219
7 ADoctor’sWorstFear:MarcusHerz’sCaseHistoryofKarlPhilipp
MoritzEtwasPsychologisch-Medizinisches.MorizKrankengeschichte
(1793) 247
8 TheCaseHistory,Therapeutics,andtheDieteticsoftheSoul:
AestheticsandEmpiricalPsychologyintheWorkofKarlPhilipp
Moritz 273
9 TowardsanEpistemologyoftheIndividualCase:Stanceand
DeviationinthePhilosophyofMarcusHerz 309
Conclusion:BecomingaCultureofIndividualCases 339