Abstract

Along with Philippe Pinel (1745–1826), Jean‐Étienne Esquirol (1772–1840) is often considered one of the fathers of clinical psychiatry. While his indebtedness to the views of his teacher, Pinel, is indisputable, his own later contributions to the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder are often considered to be clinically superior and more sophisticated than those of his mentor. Esquirol's contributions to the psychopathology of affectivity are especially important and differ in many important respects from those of Pinel, who also stressed the role of the passions in mental disorder.