Paul Adolf Näcke (born 23 January 1851 St. Petersburg, Russian Empire – died 18 August 1913 Colditz) was a German psychiatrist and criminologist. Näcke is known for his writings on homosexuality, and coining the term narcissism in 1899 to describe someone who treated his body as a sexual object.[1] [2]
He received his doctorate in 1873 in Würzburg, titled (English title translated): "About intestinal perforation and typhoid abdominalis". He worked in various Parisian hospitals; later he took an interest in psychiatry. In 1912 he became the director of the psychiatric hospital at Colditz Castle.[3] Näcke, along with Hans Gross, a professor of criminology, founded the archive of criminal anthropology and criminology in Dresden in 1898.[4] In 1884 Näcke wrote the first monograph on women's crime in Germany. He suggested a "sensible emancipation of women", which was groundbreaking for the time, but did not mean equal rights. Näcke is considered a strong opponent of positive criminology, that was founded by Cesare Lombroso. Näcke described Lombroso's work as marked by "arbitrariness, exaggerations, [and] jumping to conclusions" [5] According to Näcke, criminals are the product of external influences,[6] and not only biological influences as thought by Lombroso. This does not mean that Näcke disapproved of a biological basis for crime altogether. His argument is that every human being is a "latent criminal". Näcke was one of the first advocates of the sterilization of "degenerate criminals" and "degenerates" in general.[7] He saw it as a public duty to make "degenerates" infertile. By 1900, he published a work entitled The castration of certain classes of degenerates as an effective way of social protection (title translated)[8] Näcke wrote on the subject of a Jewish character, which was described only in vague and general features, and considered that character as a reason for crimes committed by Jews.[9] Näcke stated his position in 1899: "the State has the holy duty to intervene... and to prevent through legislation the increase of the degenerated elements. Such an intervention would aim at the removal of a big cancer in our national body". He asserted that only castration could guarantee that this task was fulfilled both effectively and in the "easiest, cheapest way".[10] In 1912, Näcke wrote against the then common diagnosis of "moral insanity". He developed the idea that homosexuality should not be regarded as a mental illness, but as an innate natural property. He described male menstruation as clear evidence of a continuum between male and female sexuality.[11] [12]
Paul Näcke was born in 1851, the son of a German father and a French mother. Näcke is said to have mastered seven languages. Näcke was married since 1886 and had several children. Throughout his life he suffered from a neurasthenia, also known as Effort syndrome. Näcke died on 18 August 1913 of heart failure due to atherosclerosis.