Flight of ideas - death of a definition: a discussion on phenomenology

Abstract

Phenomenology provides the foundations on which the functions of modern psychiatry stand. It also provides a common language for the assessment of patients, and for the education of the next generation of psychiatrists. However, phenomenology is not anchored in independent clinicopathological correlates, and therefore it is vulnerable to subtle alterations over time. This article briefly discusses some concepts regarding phenomenology and attempts to comment on the various definitions available under the common descriptor termed ‘flight of ideas’. It is asserted that without appropriate monitoring and teaching of these basic descriptors and recognising the value of historical observations, serious inconsistencies will continue to arise in clinical theory and practice, which may prove difficult to rectify.