The Anatomy of Melancholy: A Reading from the Biopsychosocial Paradigm
A Return to a Phenomenological Psychopathology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62701/revedu.v13.5467Keywords:
Melancholy, Sffering, Robert Burton, Biopsychosocial model, SpiritualityAbstract
The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621), by Robert Burton, is examined through the biopsychosocial paradigm, incorporating current developments in psychiatry, narrative medicine, and critical theory. A hermeneutic approach identifies structural correspondences between Burton’s text and contemporary models of affective disorders. The analysis addresses the biological, psychological, sociocultural, and spiritual dimensions of melancholy, positioning the work as a precursor to the biopsychosocial, spiritual, and narrative framework. Its relevance lies in critically challenging biomedical reductionism and contributing to a more integrated understanding of psychic suffering, reinforcing the value of historical texts in broadening the epistemological scope of modern mental health discourses.
Downloads
Global Statistics ℹ️
|
2
Views
|
1
Downloads
|
|
3
Total
|
|
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. New York: International Universities Press.
Binswanger, L. (1963). Being-in-the-world: Selected papers of Ludwig Binswanger on phenomenology, psychiatry, and psychology. New York: Basic Books.
Burton, R. (1621). The Anatomy of Melancholy. Oxford: Henry Cripps. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00006619
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). London: Sage Publications.
Charon, R. (2006). Narrative medicine: Honoring the stories of illness. New York: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195166750.001.0001
Engel, G. L. (1977). The need for a new medical model: A challenge for biomedicine. Science, 196(4286), 129–136. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.847460
Foster, J. A., & Neufeld, K.-A. M. (2013). Gut–brain axis: How the microbiome influences anxiety and depression. Trends in Neurosciences, 36(5), 305–312. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2013.01.005
Foucault, M. (2006). Historia de la locura en la época clásica. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Fuchs, T. (2001). Melancholia as a desynchronization: Towards a psychopathology of interpersonal time. Psychopathology, 34(4), 179–186. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000049304
Ghaemi, N. (2011). The rise and fall of the biopsychosocial model: Reconciling art and science in psychiatry. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Jackson, S. W. (1986). Melancholia and depression: From Hippocratic times to modern times. New Haven: Yale University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1xp3stn
Jakubczyk, A., et al. (2015). Nutrition and depression: Current knowledge and future perspectives. Psychiatria Polska, 49(6), 1441–1452.
Klibansky, R., Panofsky, E., & Saxl, F. (1964). Saturno y la melancolía: Estudios en la historia de la filosofía natural, la religión y el arte. Londres: Thomas Nelson and Sons.
Koenig, H. G. (2012). Religion, spirituality, and health: The research and clinical implications. ISRN Psychiatry, 2012, Article ID 278730. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5402/2012/278730
Kristeva, J. (1989). Sol negro: Depresión y melancolía. Nueva York: Columbia University Press.
Marmot, M., Friel, S., Bell, R., Houweling, T. A., & Taylor, S. (2008). Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health. The Lancet, 372(9650), 1661–1669. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61690-6
Morin, E. (1990). Introducción al pensamiento complejo. Barcelona: Gedisa.
Puchalski, C. M., Vitillo, R., Hull, S. K., & Reller, N. (2009). Improving the spiritual dimension of whole person care: Reaching national and international consensus. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 12(10), 885–904. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2009.0142
World Health Organization. (2021). World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all. Geneva: WHO.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Authors retain copyright and transfer to the journal the right of first publication and publishing rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Those authors who publish in this journal accept the following terms:
-
Authors retain copyright.
-
Authors transfer to the journal the right of first publication. The journal also owns the publishing rights.
-
All published contents are governed by an Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Access the informative version and legal text of the license. By virtue of this, third parties are allowed to use what is published as long as they mention the authorship of the work and the first publication in this journal. If you transform the material, you may not distribute the modified work. -
Authors may make other independent and additional contractual arrangements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in this journal (e.g., inclusion in an institutional repository or publication in a book) as long as they clearly indicate that the work was first published in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and recommended to publish their work on the Internet (for example on institutional and personal websites), following the publication of, and referencing the journal, as this could lead to constructive exchanges and a more extensive and quick circulation of published works (see The Effect of Open Access).
