Philosophers discussing mental illnesses are interested in a wide variety of questions. Some of these questions are conceptual in nature: What is mental disorder to begin with? How can symptoms be distinguished from personality traits? Are mania and depression distinct illnesses? Others are related to the status of psychiatry as a special science, its methods and research aims: What is the best way to model psychopathology? How can we investigate, explain and predict the development of and recovery from mental illnesses in patients? And to what extent do we need to study the brain to do that? In addition, there is whole range of questions bridging into the philosophy of mind: Can clinical phenomena illuminate mind-brain relations? To what extent should we consider mental disorders as brain disorders? Can genes and neurotransmitters cause mental illnesses?
Throughout this class, we shall touch upon these and more questions as we delve into contemporary discussions within the philosophy of psychiatry. Students will be given the opportunity to propose session topics and to organize some sessions by themselves. Willingness to engage with philosophical, neuroscientific, psychological, and modelling literature is presupposed; as is basic knowledge in philosophy of mind and/or philosophy of science. Term papers will be considered for presentation at the workshop ”Understanding Mental Disorders: Networks, Variables and Causal Modelling” to be held at Saarland University on August 26th to 28th.
Due to the current situation (Covid-19), this class will be web-based. By default, we will meet via video chat during the regular time slot (Thursdays, 10:15-11:45), starting May 7th. There will be preparatory assignments and lots of discussion opportunities. Further details will be provided on Moodle. If you would like to take this class, please sign up in the corresponding Moodle course for more information. You'll also find the team code there.
Note: In weeks where Thursdays are bank holidays, there will be offline tasks. This is to make up for missed sessions due to the delayed start of the semester while still allowing for a certain flexibility.
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