I believe schizophrenia is a social construction. It has been developped over centuries as a way of keeping order. People who choose to act "absurdly" or "mad" are regarded as being deviant. This deviance if seen as a threat, will lead to a referral to a psychiatrist(s), by a family member, co-worker, police officer, social worker, etc. The psychiatrist(s) will then base thier diagnosis on a number of "tests" and "examinations". The issue of validity and reliability in diagnosis has haunted psychiatry since its conception. Not only has the definition of "schizophrenia" drastically changed numerous times since the institutionalization of madness, but replication in concordance rates among psychiatrists is rare in diagnosis. Much of psychiatric diagnosis has become extremely reliant on the Diagnosis and Statistical Manual. Since the 1st manual appeared in 1952 the # of classifications grew from 106 to 292 in 1987. I could go on about the use of psychotropic drugs, and thier masking effect of so-called symptoms, as well as other convincing points of interest. Unfortunately it is this world that\'s gone crazy, and to often people look to "solve existential and identity problems through the construction of atypical beliefs, unusual imaginings, and nonconforming speech and gestural behavior". Joan of Arc heard voices, and no one thought she was nuts.
