Antoni Kępiński was a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 psychiatrist

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...

.

He attended the Bartłomiej Nowodworski High School. In 1936 he entered the Medical Faculty of the Jagiellonian University

Jagiellonian University

The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....

. In 1939, he interrupted his studies before graduation and volunteered for the Polish Army to defend his country from the German invasion

Invasion of Poland (1939)

The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...

. After the successful invasion of Poland by Germany

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

, Kępiński was captured and imprisoned in Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, to where he had fled. In 1940, he managed to escape imprisonment and headed to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, then Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, where he was imprisoned in Miranda del Ebro.

Later he was freed and came to Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, spending a short time with the Polish aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

division. In 1944-5, he continued his medical studies in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 graduating in 1946. Soon he returned to Poland and took up psychiatry at the Psychiatric Clinic of Collegium Medicum in Kraków.

As a concentration camp inmate himself he took part in a rehabilitation programme for survivors from the Auschwitz concentration camp. His theories of information metabolism

Information metabolism

Information metabolism is a psychological theory of human social interactions based on information processing . It was developed in Eastern Europe by Antoni Kępiński....

 and axiological psychiatry are well known and his scientific work covers over 140 publications and several books.

His books:

• Psychopatologia nerwic (Psychopathology of Neuroses)
• Schizofrenia (Schizophrenia
  Schizophrenia
  Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
  
  )
• Melancholia (Melancholy)
• Psychopatie (Psychopathologies)
• Lęk (Fear)
• Podstawowe zagadnienia współczesnej psychiatrii (The Basic Concepts of Contemporary Psychiatry)
• Poznanie chorego (Understanding the Patient)
• Rytm życia (The Rhythm of Life)

External links

• Life Circle, Time and the Self in Antoni Kępiński's Conception of Information Metabolism -- Published in 2007 in Poland