Reasoning in schizophrenia

The aim of this chapter is to highlight the different positions about reasoning in schizophrenia, particularly focusing on two perspectives: that of phenomenological psychiatry, and, most of all, that of cognitive psychology. We will separate these studies on the basis of the ability analysed: syllogistic reasoning, conditional reasoning and probabilistic reasoning. We would like to provide an overview of reasoning abilities in schizophrenia, in order to explore whether this form of mental disorder is also characterized by specific reasoning deficits. Moreover, we will address the problem of rationality in schizophrenia, trying to determine whether schizophrenics’ thinking and behaviours show a clear lack of rationality.