Philosophy of Mental Health and Disorder

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

What exactly is a mental disorder? We often use this term, but rarely stop to think about what it means. It seems like our answers to this question will vary depending on our personal opinions and the society we grew up in. So, who gets to decide what is a real mental disorder and what is not? Is it a matter of scientific discovery, value judgments, or even cultural preference? These and other questions will be discussed in this course. Other topics include ethics and mental health, the concepts of function and dysfunction, and critiques of the mental health field. Please note: this is a philosophy course and not a clinical course, no clinical skills or diagnostic methods will be covered.