The Representation of the “Science” Construct in the Diagnostic Manuals. An Exploratory Research on the Use of the Scientific Term in the icd-10, in the dsm-5 and in the pdm

Disciplines and theoretical approaches are characterized by the research of a defined scientific status in order to legitimate them. To understand psychological phenomena in the heterogeneous field of clinical psychology, different linguistic expressions and scientific criteria can be found, as well as many pragmatic consequences. In this research we tried to explore the meanings related to the use of the term “scientific” in some diagnostic manuals: the icd-10, the dsm-5 and the pdm. The method used was that of perspicuous representation, i.e. a system of linguistic analysis aimed at identifying some symbolic units present in the manuals. The results allowed to highlight the meanings related to the different understandings of science and to advance some operative suggestions. In conclusion, it can be highlighted how the use of the construct “science” and the linguistic expressions related to it are very different in the three manuals investigated and refers to fields of meaning very different from each other. Finally, the importance of founding the construct “science” according to its own specific conceptual references is underlined.

Keywords: Science, language, diagnosis, epistemology, perspicuous representation.