Book contents
- Psychopathology of Rare and Unusual Syndromes
- Psychopathology of Rare and Unusual Syndromes
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Reviews
- Preface
- Section 1 Abnormalities of Belief and Judgement
- Section 2 Abnormalities of the Experience of Love
- Section 3 Abnormalities of Perception
- Section 4 Abnormalities of the Self
- Chapter 12 Depersonalization
- Chapter 13 Autoscopy and Related Syndromes
- Chapter 14 Dissociation
- Section 5 Abnormalities of Experience of the Body
- Section 6 Abnormalities of Memory Function
- Section 7 Abnormalities of Behaviour
- References
- Index
Chapter 13 - Autoscopy and Related Syndromes
from Section 4 - Abnormalities of the Self
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 August 2021
- Psychopathology of Rare and Unusual Syndromes
- Psychopathology of Rare and Unusual Syndromes
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Reviews
- Preface
- Section 1 Abnormalities of Belief and Judgement
- Section 2 Abnormalities of the Experience of Love
- Section 3 Abnormalities of Perception
- Section 4 Abnormalities of the Self
- Chapter 12 Depersonalization
- Chapter 13 Autoscopy and Related Syndromes
- Chapter 14 Dissociation
- Section 5 Abnormalities of Experience of the Body
- Section 6 Abnormalities of Memory Function
- Section 7 Abnormalities of Behaviour
- References
- Index
Summary
The term autoscopy literally means ‘seeing oneself’. It refers to a complex set of experiences involving the duplication of the self. These experiences and the underlying notion of self-duplication have a compelling influence on popular culture manifest in the writings of authors such as Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) in The Double, Shusaku Endo (1923–1996) in Scandal, José Saramago (1922–2010) in The Double, Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) in his short story ‘William Wilson’ and R. L. Stevenson (1850–1894) in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This influence is extensive enough to include literary theory in such works as Karl Miller’s Doubles: Studies in Literary History and Robert Rogers’ A Psychoanalytic Study of the Double in Literature. Indeed, there are traces going back to the mythology of various human groups, including notions about the fetch in Irish mythology, doppelgänger in German folklore and wraith in Britain. The sighting of the double is usually regarded as a portent of imminent death.
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- Psychopathology of Rare and Unusual Syndromes , pp. 141 - 152Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021