Editing Antoni Kępiński (section)

===Axiological psychiatry===
In [[philosophy]], [[axiology]] is the theory of value.<ref name="stanford2018">{{cite web|last1=Schroeder|first1=Mark|title=Value Theory|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/value-theory/|website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|access-date=29 April 2018}}</ref> According to Kępiński, the problem of value is of the greatest importance in psychiatry. It has two dimensions. Firstly, there are certain ethical values which should guide the doctors in their medical practice. Secondly, the therapeutic process in psychiatry should lead to reorganization or rebuilding of the hierarchy of values in the patient.<ref name="bulaczek2013">{{cite journal|last1=Bulaczek|first1=Aleksandra|title=Relations patient – doctor in axiological psychiatry of Antoni Kępiński (in Polish)|journal=Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae UKSW|date=2013|volume=11|issue=2|pages=9–28|doi=10.21697/seb.2013.11.2.01 |url=http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.desklight-37c5d3a1-9ee9-49e4-b9d1-287df1ef3a58/c/tom_11_2_1_aleksandra_bulaczek_relacje_pacjent_lekarz_w_psychiatrii_aksjologicznej_antoniego_kepinskiego.pdf}}</ref>

Kępiński's bioethics were derived directly from The [[Hippocratic Oath]]. He restated the widely held view, that the main goal of the psychiatrist is to bring relief to patients. Being a physician is a type of mission or calling rather than an ordinary paid occupation. A key value to be upheld is hope. Without it, the actions undertaken by the doctors can become meaningless. Moreover, patients can sometimes recognise perplexity in the face of their physician. Hence whether improvement is realistic should always guide the medical profession.<ref name="bulaczek2013" />

Another axiological theme in Kępiński's psychiatry was his view on the nature of psychoses, especially [[schizophrenia]]. According to that view, psychosis may be seen as distortions of the hierarchy of values which is one of the key aspects of the [[information metabolism]] process occurring in the organism of the patient.<ref name="schochow2016"/> He contended that therapeutic work could lead to the formation of a healthy hierarchy of values, allowing the patient to interact with reality in a more balanced manner.<ref name="bulaczek2013" /> His axiological take on psychopathology was seen as something unique and new in Polish psychiatry. It opened the way for new directions of research, such that some reviewers recognised Kępiński's works as the foundation for a new branch of psychiatry.<ref name="bulaczek2013" />