Von Nutzen und Nachteil des Agnostizismus (Kurt Schneider) für die gegenwärtige forensische Psychiatrie

At the center of the triadic system, Kurt Schneider’s psychiatric system, is a medical concept of illness. On this basis, K. Schneider presented position statements on the assessment of culpability in 1948. The statement that it was not possible to assess the capacity for insight or control led to a discussion that has gone down in the history of forensic psychiatry as the “agnosticism controversy”. Firstly, the question of whether the problems at the second level of judgement could be solved in a “gnostic” way is examined. The question is then discussed as to whether there are cases in which an “agnostic” position should be maintained with respect to the assessment of the capacity for insight or control. In the course of the discussion, reference is made to the importance of a “psychopathological reference system” (H Saß) for the assessment of culpability.