One of the topics of this symposium is the way in which psychopathology sees itself as a science. This way is by no means homogeneous. At one end of the scale there is the view of psychopathology as a nomothetic science, based upon the principles of natural sciences, especially logical empiricism. In extreme contrast, others hold the position, that psychopathology has to understand the individual human being ideographically. Discussion about the appropriate position of psychopathology within the scientific community has considerably increased in recent years.