In this seminar, we will discuss central texts in the philosophy of psychiatry. The main topic will be the analysis of the concept of mental disorder. In the last decades, philosophers and psychiatrists have defended different positions, ranging from naturalistic theories that aim at analyzing mental disorder as biological kinds or dysfunctions, to normativist accounts which claim that mental disorders are tools to control socially abnormal behaviour, and eventually to hybrid accounts that combine both biological and social aspects. In the final weeks of the semester, we will focus on two phenomenological analyses of depression and schizophrenia, and discuss the new 'network' approach to mental disorders.
[Note that the schedule is provisional, and the syllabus may still change somewhat before the first introductory session.]
