[Gottfried Benn and schizoidism].

Based on increasing criticism concerning operational diagnostics in psychiatry, the concept of schizoid personality disorder in ICD and DSM is discussed critically. In a case study regarding the poet and doctor Gottfried Benn, the limitation of manualized, context-independent diagnostic systems is shown. In contrast Ernst Kretschmer's concept of schizoidism seems suitable to describe a schizoid character in his ambiguity.