Overview
Philosophical ideas about the mind, brain, and behavior can seem theoretical and unimportant when placed alongside the urgent questions of mental distress and disorder. However, there is a need to give direction to attempts to answer these questions. On the one hand, a substantial research effort is going into the investigation of brain processes and the development of drug treatments for psychiatric disorders, and on the other, a wide range of psychotherapies is becoming available to adults and children with mental health problems. These two strands reflect traditional distinctions between mind and body, and causal as opposed to meaningful explanations of behavior. In this book, which has been written for psychiatrists, psychologists, philosophers, and others in related fields, the authors propose a radical re-interpretation of these traditional distinctions. Throughout the discussions philosophical theories are brought to bear on the particular questions of the explanation of behaviors, the nature of mental causation, and eventually the origins of major disorders including depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and personality disorder.
The book contains no figures.
Editorials
From The Critics
Reviewer: John S. Lyons, PhD(Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)Description: This book is a treatise on the philosophy of the science of psychiatry. It represents one of the few in-depth discussions of philosophy of science with a specific application to psychiatry and clinical psychology.
Purpose: The authors intend to bridge the logical and conceptual gaps inherent in competing views of psychopathology that have variously emphasized the meaning of events or pathological disease processes.
Audience: Philosophers, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and some advanced graduate students are the audience for this book.
Features: The text is well referenced. There are no figures, charts, or graphs.
Assessment: This is a well-written and important book. By distinguishing between intentional causes of psychopathology (i.e., those based on the meaning of events or circumstances) and nonintentional causes (i.e., those involving a disruption in normal processes), the authors are able to advance a balanced discussion of theories and empirical evidence in psychiatry. This discussion moves clearly beyond discussions of understanding versus explaining and "hard" versus "soft" science.
John S. Lyons
This book is a treatise on the philosophy of the science of psychiatry. It represents one of the few in-depth discussions of philosophy of science with a specific application to psychiatry and clinical psychology. "The authors intend to bridge the logical and conceptual gaps inherent in competing views of psychopathology that have variously emphasized the meaning of events or pathological disease processes. "Philosophers, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and some advanced graduate students are the audience for this book. "The text is well referenced. There are no figures, charts, or graphs. "This is a well-written and important book. By distinguishing between intentional causes of psychopathology (i.e., those based on the meaning of events or circumstances) and nonintentional causes (i.e., those involving a disruption in normal processes), the authors are able to advance a balanced discussion of theories and empirical evidence in psychiatry. This discussion moves clearly beyond discussions of understanding versus explaining and ^^hard^^ versus ^^soft^^ science.3 Stars from Doody