Editing Kaspar Hauser (section)

=== Psychological viewpoints ===
Hauser's various accounts of his incarceration include several contradictions.<ref>For an analysis of these, see Reinhard Heydenreuter: ''Hermann und der Fall Kaspar Hauser'', in: Manfred Pix (ed.): Friedrich Benedikt Wilhelm von Hermann (1795–1868). Ein Genie im Dienste der bayerischen Könige. Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft im Aufbruch, Stuttgart 1999, pp.&nbsp;523–539, here pp.&nbsp;525–530</ref> In 1970, psychiatrist [[Karl Leonhard]] stated that:<blockquote>"If he had been living since childhood under the conditions he describes, he would not have developed beyond the condition of an idiot; indeed he would not have remained alive long. His tale is so full of absurdities that it is astonishing that it was ever believed and is even today still believed by many people."<ref name="Karl Leonhard 1970, p. 229">Karl Leonhard: ''Kaspar Hauser und die moderne Kenntnis des Hospitalismus'', in: Confinia Psychiatrica 13, 1970, pp.&nbsp;213–229, here p.&nbsp;229</ref></blockquote>

Leonhard rejected the views of both Heidenreich and Hesse, contending that:<blockquote>"Kaspar Hauser was, as other authors already opined, a pathological swindler. In addition to his [[Histrionic personality disorder|hysterical make-up]] he probably had the persistence of a [[Paranoid personality disorder|paranoid personality]] since he was able to play his role so imperturbably. From many reports on his behaviour one can recognise the hysterical as well as the paranoid trend of his personality."<ref name="Karl Leonhard 1970, p. 229" /></blockquote>