Schizoidism and Syntony vis-à-vis Plessner, Autopoiesis, and 4E Cognition.

BACKGROUND: The schizoidism-syntony dyad offers a good start for a comprehensive view of psychopathology. Rooted in schizophrenia and manic-depressive illness in Kretschmer's characterology, these concepts gained prominence, under Bleuler and Minkowski, as expressions of personal relational patterns to the environment. SUMMARY: It seems insightful, therefore, to compare the concepts to the organism-environment relationship in autopoiesis and 4E cognition, anticipated in Plessner's biological phenomenology. This paper outlines schizoidism and syntony, which have positive features but become psychoses in their extremes. The paper then briefly approaches the organism-environment coupling in autopoiesis and 4E cognition before finally discussing schizoidism and syntony within this framework. KEY MESSAGES: Schizoidism-syntony is akin to decentered-centered (Plessner) and to Körper-Leib, and is also correlated with other dyads. Schizoidism and syntony may share profound commonalities with 4E cognition and, especially considering the enactive approach, with the autopoietic notion of sense-making. This work supports those psychopathologists who have identified a fluid relationship between symptom complexes and the normal psyche. It aligns with the relevance of interdisciplinary enlightenment in the cognitive sciences, particularly highlighting psychopathology.