This book addresses the traditional perception of symptoms and whether they are physical signs of illness or symbolic and cultural forms of expression. The research presented here examines contemporary psychiatric knowledge, medical anthropology, and the fields of psychiatry/psychology to find answers regarding the interpretation of symptoms. This book also offers critical analyses of Freud, Kraepelin, Foucault, Barthes and Peirce, among others, as part of its critical framework.

This book addresses the traditional perception of symptoms and whether they are physical signs of illness or symbolic and cultural forms of expression, by examining contemporary psychiatric knowledge, medical anthropology, psychiatry and psychology.