The module provides an overview of contemporary debates in philosophy and mental health. In each seminar a new issue will be investigated, but there will be three interrelated threads throughout the module. One is about the nature of psychiatry. The second is about the sense in which psychiatric disorders are disorders of the self. The third is about how we should respond to people with psychiatric disorders, considered from a wide range of perspectives, including interpersonal, clinical, ethical, legal and public health policy. These themes will be addressed by reference to different aspects of psychiatry (e.g. classification, diagnosis, aetiology, research, treatment), different psychiatric disorders (e.g. addiction, anorexia, dementia, dissociation, schizophrenia, personality disorders, psychopathy), and different disciplinary frameworks. The course will also have a practical element involving structured, outcome-focused deliberation about difficult cases highlighting these threads and their inter-relations.Topics to be addressed may include:• Is mental illness a myth?• Critique of the medical model by the anti-psychiatry movement and discussion of ‘eliminativism’ about psychiatry• Genes and environment: causes, explanations, interventions• Patient perspectives: narratives, emotions, needs, and values• How do cognitive, volitional, and emotional deficits impact on the construction and preservation of the self, autonomy, and decision-making capacity?• The nature of delusions• The nature of disorders of agency• How do psychiatric disorders impact on moral and legal responsibility?
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Demonstrate a thorough familiarity and understanding of the areas of philosophy covered by the module, and especially conceptual ethical, and law and policy issues arising from psychiatric research and clinical practice.
Manifest expertise in the philosophical skills required for productive independent research on the topics of the module, such as the ability to find, interpret and analyse difficult (sometimes technical) texts, the ability to construct rigorous arguments concerning these issues, the ability to analyse and criticise others’ arguments, and the ability to situate philosophical debates within a wider context.
Communicate results of interpretation, analysis and independent research in writing (observing the appropriate academic conventions).
Assessment
36123-02 : Option 1: 4000 word essay : Coursework (100%)
36123-03 : Option 2: 2 x 2000 word essay : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions
Assessment: 4000 word essay (100%) OR 2 x 2000 word essays (50% each)
Reassessment: The same assessment that was chosen originally.
