Philosophy and Mental Disorder

(2.5-3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This module is a consideration of the many philosophical questions that are raised by the psychiatric notions of "mental disorder." Among the questions considered will be: * does depression have a meaning or it is simply an organic illness? * are paranoid experiences an effort to make sense of a broken reality? * what does it mean to describe some one's personality as "disordered"? * why do we hold some criminals less responsible than others because of a psychiatric diagnosis? * can we describe people as dangerous on the basis of a psychiatric diagnosis? A broader objective of the module is to find ways of elucidating the conception of "normality" that underpins the very idea of "disorder.