Daniel Gottlob Moritz Schreber
Encyclopedia
Daniel Gottlob Moritz Schreber (October 15, 1808 - November 10, 1861) was a German
physician
and university teacher at University of Leipzig
. In 1844, he became director of the Leipzig "Heilanstalt" (sanatorium
). His publications predominantly dealt with the subject of children's health
and social consequences of urbanization
at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution
:
Schreber advocated both his "systematic remedial exercises" and countryside exercise for urban youth. During his time, the term "Volksgesundheit" (people's health) was coined. Back then, it comprised the idea of a "healthy relief of excessive energy", as Schreber rigidly opposed masturbation
and even experimented with mechanical devices to prevent it in adolescents (see below).
Due to the limited success of these methods, he demanded playgrounds out of town, as free space for children to move about was too limited in urban mansions.
, wrote an autobiographical account of what is now assumed to have been paranoid
psychosis
(a term not coined back then), Memoirs of My Nervous Illness (original German title Denkwürdigkeiten eines Nervenkranken). The notes were later analysed by Sigmund Freud
on the theoretical basis of psychoanalysis
.
Two other children of Schreber also suffered from mental disease, one of them, Schreber's oldest son, committed suicide.
According to Alice Miller
, Schreber was a foremost figure of what she called poisonous pedagogy
, in a translation of Katharina Rutschky
's term Schwarze Pädagogik (literally: black pedagogy). Miller analysed the social impact of this rigid attitude towards child rearing
and pedagogy
.
Miller wrote in this context: "The father of the paranoid patient Schreber whom Freud
described, had written several educational books, which were so successful in Germany that some of them were reprinted forty times and translated into several languages."
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and university teacher at University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
. In 1844, he became director of the Leipzig "Heilanstalt" (sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
). His publications predominantly dealt with the subject of children's health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
and social consequences of urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution
Industrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
:
- Die Eigenthümlichkeiten des kindlichen Organismus im gesunden und kranken Zustande (1839), literally: "Peculiarities of the child's organism in health and illness"
- Der Hausfreund als Erzieher und Führer zu Familienglück und Menschenveredelung (1861), "The friend of the family as an educator and leader to family happiness and human refinement"
- Die ärztliche Zimmergymnastik (1855), "Medical indoor gymnastics", his best selling piece of work
Remedial exercises
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
and even experimented with mechanical devices to prevent it in adolescents (see below).
Due to the limited success of these methods, he demanded playgrounds out of town, as free space for children to move about was too limited in urban mansions.
Allotment gardens
Schreber was the founder of the eponymous "Schreber movement", although that term was used only after his death. In 1864, Leipzig school principal Ernst Innozenz Hauschild established the first "Schrebergarten", by leasing land for the physical exercise of children.Poisonous pedagogy
One of his sons, Daniel Paul SchreberDaniel Paul Schreber
Daniel Paul Schreber was a German judge who suffered from what was then diagnosed as dementia praecox. He described his second mental illness , making also a brief reference to the first illness in his book Memoirs of My Nervous Illness...
, wrote an autobiographical account of what is now assumed to have been paranoid
Paranoid personality disorder
Paranoid personality disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis characterized by paranoia and a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others....
psychosis
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
(a term not coined back then), Memoirs of My Nervous Illness (original German title Denkwürdigkeiten eines Nervenkranken). The notes were later analysed by Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
on the theoretical basis of psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
.
Two other children of Schreber also suffered from mental disease, one of them, Schreber's oldest son, committed suicide.
According to Alice Miller
Alice Miller (psychologist)
Alice Miller née Rostovski was a psychologist and world renowned author, who is noted for her books on child abuse by their own parents, translated in several languages...
, Schreber was a foremost figure of what she called poisonous pedagogy
Poisonous pedagogy
Poisonous pedagogy, also called black pedagogy, from the original German name Schwarze Pädagogik, is a term used by some present-day psychologists and sociologists to describe a subset of traditional child-raising methods which they regard as repressive and harmful...
, in a translation of Katharina Rutschky
Katharina Rutschky
Katharina Rutschky was a German educationalist and author. She coined the term "Schwarze Pädagogik" in her eponymous book from 1977. The term was later translated to poisonous pedagogy by Alice Miller...
's term Schwarze Pädagogik (literally: black pedagogy). Miller analysed the social impact of this rigid attitude towards child rearing
Parenting
Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...
and pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
.
Miller wrote in this context: "The father of the paranoid patient Schreber whom Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
described, had written several educational books, which were so successful in Germany that some of them were reprinted forty times and translated into several languages."