Análise da concepção da relação pensamento-linguagem no Transtorno do Pensamento Formal: um contraponto a partir da Psicologia Histórico-Cultural

Abstract

Formal thought disorder (FTD), traditionally considered the most characteristic "symptom" of schizophrenia, is a psychopathological construct whose roots date back to the 19th century and whose trajectory was marked by a series of reformulations. Over the decades, as exposed in the first chapter of this thesis, researchers aligned with different psychopathological approaches sought to understand, describe and explain FTD based on various theoretical frameworks. The publication of DSM-III (APA, 1980) marks two particularly important changes related to FTD: this "symptom" is no longer considered specific to schizophrenia, and may therefore be present in other mental disorders; and it was renamed as "disorganized speech", in conformity with a perspective that is supposedly empirical, purely descriptive and atheoretical. However, as evidenced in the second chapter, despite the transformations that characterize its trajectory, FTD is a construct that has remained, since its origins, grounded in certain fundamental theoretical assumptions, notably on specific conceptions about the relationship between thought and language. Thus, in order to provide elements that can contribute to the debate about the philosophical-epistemological bases that inform psychopathological categories, this research presents the theory about the relationship between thought and language developed by Lev Vygotsky, considered the founder of Cultural-Historical Psychology, and his research partners. When presenting the perspective of Cultural-Historical Psychology, the aim is not only to point out that the assumptions underlying the FTD construct concerning the relationship between thinking and language are a possibility and not a necessity, but also and mainly to bring a counterpoint on the basis of which these premises can be questioned and rethought