Syllabus Spring 2017

Philosophy of Mental Health Spring 2017 Credits: 3 Credits External course: University of Copenhagen Course Major Disciplines: Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology Instructor: René Rosfort

Place: Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, South Campus, Room 6B.0.22

Schedule: Tuesdays 15:00-17:30

Description of course: Mental illness is an increasing problem involving dramatic personal and socioeconomic costs. Developments in genetics, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience over the last two decades have made it obvious for psychiatrists and psychologists alike that the question ‘what is mental illness?’ is still an open question that requires interdisciplinary resources. Philosophy of mental health is an attempt to develop a solid conceptual framework for the interdisciplinary exploration of mental illness. This course is an introduction to the burgeoning field of philosophy of psychiatry. Against a solid historical background, the course sets out to present, examine, and discuss concepts fundamental to our understanding of mental illness (mind, body, self, person, rationality, emotion, normality/disorder), the meaning of psychopathology, the relationship between biology (genetics, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience in particular) and subjectivity, and the question of therapy (the values and norms of well-being).

Instructor: René Rosfort, PhD & MA (University of Copenhagen, 2008 & 2003). Associate Professor (Kierkegaard Research Centre, University of Copenhagen).

Learning objectives of the course: This course will introduce you to some of basic philosophical dimensions of mental health. This introduction will enable the student to understand and evaluate critically the problems involved in the growing challenges to mental health. Besides getting a solid understanding of the historical background of contemporary philosophy of mental health, you will learn about the virtues and limit of scientific explanations of mental illness; the complex relationship of biological, psychological, and social factors involved in mental illness; the question of psychopathology and phenomenology in a scientific culture; the problem of health care; the issue of medicalization; and the scope and aim of therapy.

Required texts:

1) Graham, George. The Disordered Mind: An Introduction to Philosophy of Mind and Mental Illness, 2nd edition London: Routledge 2013. 2) Richard J. McNally. What is Mental Illness? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2011. 3) Roy Porter. Madness: A Brief History of Mental Illness. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002.

DIS Contacts: Matt Kelley, Program Assistant, European Humanities Department

Philosophy of Mental Health | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology

Syllabus Spring 2017

Approach to Teaching: The sessions are structured as a combination of lecture and discussion with a focus on engaging the student. Each session is framed by a systematic PowerPoint presentation of the themes and readings in question. The presentation will encourage and guide the discussion in the class. The student can expect a lively and systematically oriented teacher who will attempt to make the issues both interesting and relevant to a contemporary setting while maintaining a substantial theoretical level and the necessary historical perspective.

Expectations of the students: I expect you to have done the required reading for each class and to think about issues, problems, and questions for me and for the other students. This will give us material to generate conversation. I encourage engaged participation in the discussions of the various themes of each session. I expect, however, that in the discussion you will make use of the theoretical tools and the historical background that you are expected to have learned as the course progresses.

Evaluation: The course is both theoretical and practical in the sense that I aim at enhancing your argumentative skill on the basis of the theoretical tools and the historical insight that the course provides you with. To think about mental health, mental illness, and the current scientific exploration of human nature means to engage in an ongoing contemporary discussion that affects major aspects of human existence – societal as well as personal. Therefore, much of the work in the class will be in the form of discussion. There will be three short written assignments (after sessions 3, 6, and 8), and one longer, final paper. The written assignments will deal with the historical and theoretical aspects of the course. I value independent thinking and personal engagement in both the written assignments and in the discussions in the class, but only if these aspects of your work rest on solid arguments built on the theoretical and historical foundation of the course. So independent thinking and personal engagement will be rewarded, if they are kept in balance with the intellectual and academic standard of the course.

Grading: Engaged participation: 10% Final paper: 45% 3 short assignments: 45% (Each of the short assignments counts for 15%)

Written assignments: The short assignments: 4-5 pages long • 1st assignment due Monday, February 27 • 2nd assignment due Monday, March 27 • 3rd assignment due Monday, April 17 Final paper: 10-12 pages long and due Thursday, May 11

Attendance: Class attendance is required, including classes with guest lecturers. According to UCPH policy, all students must be present 75% of the time to receive a grade. (For DIS students: the DIS Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of Student Affairs, must be notified if you are absent four times or more).

Plagiarism Policy: In accordance with UCPH rules for academic ethics, there will be a no tolerance policy towards cheating and plagiarism. The submission of any paper which is not your own work will result in an automatic F for the course and possible notification of your home university.

Philosophy of Mental Health | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology

Syllabus Spring 2017

Disability and Resource Statement Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should immediately contact Office of Academic Support ([email protected]) to coordinate this. In order to receive accommodations, students should inform the instructor of approved DIS accommodations.

Philosophy of Mental Health | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology

Syllabus Spring 2017

Session 1 (January 24): Introduction: What Is Mental Health and Why Does Our Mind Suffer? Required reading: • Richard J. McNally. What is Mental Illness? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2011, Ch. 1 (pp. 1-32). • George Graham. The Disordered Mind. London: Routledge 2013, Ch. 2 (pp. 19-44).

Optional reading: • Graham, George. The Disordered Mind. London: Routledge 2013, Ch. 1. (pp. 1-18). • Dominic Murphy. "Philosophy of Psychiatry", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/psychiatry/.

Session 2 (January 31): A Brief History of Suffering I: From Humoralism to Nerves (500 BCE— 1800 CE) Required reading: • Roy Porter. Madness. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002, Ch. 1-4 (pp.1-88).

Optional reading: • Roy Porter. Madness. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002, Ch. 5-6 (pp. 89-122). • Dora B. Weiner. “The Madman in the Light of Reason. Part I: Custody, Therapy, and the Need for Reform”. In: E. R. Wallace and J. Gach (eds.) History of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology. New York: Springer 2008 (pp. 255-277).

Session 3 (February 14): A Brief History of Suffering II: From Pinel Over Freud to DSM-5 (1800—2013) Required reading: • Roy Porter. Madness. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002, Ch. 6, 8-9 (pp. 123-155, 183-218). • Edward Shorter. “The History of DSM”. In: Joel Paris & James Phillips (eds.) Making the DSM-5: Concepts and Controversies. New York: Springer 2013 (pp. 3-19).

Optional reading: • George Graham. The Disordered Mind. London: Routledge 2013, Ch. 4 (pp. 75-103). • Richard J. McNally. What is Mental Illness? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2011, Ch. 2 (pp. 32-69). • Allen Frances. “DSM in Philosophyland: Curiouser and Curiouser”. AAP&P Bulletin, vol. 17, no. 1 (2010): 21-25

1st short written assignment (due Monday, February 27)

Session 4 (February 21): A Suffering Mind—A Disturbing Society—A Broken Brain: The Encounter of Three Cultures Required reading: • George L. Engel. “The Need for a New Medical Model: A Challenge for Biomedicine”. Science, vol. 196, no. 4286 (1977): 129-136. • George Graham. The Disordered Mind. London: Routledge 2013, Ch. 3 (pp. 45-74).

Optional reading: • Nancy C. Andreasen. Brave New Brain. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2001, Ch. 3 (pp. 25-37). • Christian Perring. "Mental Illness", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2010 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mental-illness/. • Edward Shorter. The History of the Biopsychosocial Approach in Medicine: Before and After Engel”. In: P. White: Biopsychosocial Medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press (pp. 1-11).

Philosophy of Mental Health | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology

Syllabus Spring 2017

Session 5 (March 7): An Impersonal Disease: Evolution, Genes, and Neuroscience Required Reading: • Dominic Murphy. “Conceptual Foundation of Biological Psychiatry”. In: F. Gifford (ed.) Handbook of Philosophy of Science. Volume 16: Philosophy of Medicine. Oxford: Elsevier 2011 (pp. 425-451). • Eric R. Kandel. “A New Intellectual Framework for Psychiatry”. American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 155, no. 4 (1998): 457-469.

Optional Reading: • Richard J. McNally. What is Mental Illness? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2011, Ch. 3+6 (pp. 69-96 + 159-183). • Jerome C. Wakefield. “The Concept of Mental Disorder: Diagnostic Implications of the Harmful Dysfunction Analysis”. World Psychiatry, vol. 6, nr. 3 (1992): 149-156. • Thomas R. Insel & Bruce N. Cuthbert. “Brain Disorders? Precisely: Precision Medicine Comes to Psychiatry” Science,vol. 348 (6234): 499-500.

Session 6 (March 14): A Societal Problem: Antipsychiatry, Scientific Constructions, and Society Required reading: • Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen.”Making psychiatric history”. History of the Human Sciences, Vol. 14 (1998): 19-38 + Making Minds and Madness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2009, Ch.10 (pp. 185-196). • Ian Hacking. The Social Construction of What? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 1999, Ch. 4 (pp. 100-124).

Optional Reading: • Richard J. McNally. What is Mental Illness? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2011, Ch. 5 (pp. 128-159). • Ian Hacking. The Social Construction of What? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2011, Ch. 1 (pp. 1-34).

2nd short written assignment (due Monday, March 27)

Session 7 (March 28): Being a Self: Phenomenology and the First-Person Perspective Required reading: • Shaun Gallagher and Dan Zahavi. The Phenomenological Mind. London: Routledge 2012, Ch. 2 (pp. 15-47.) • Thomas Nagel. “What It Is Like to Be a Bat”. The Philosophical Review, vol. 83, no. 4 (1974): 435-450.

Optional reading: • Wolfgang Blankenburg. “Phenomenology and Psychopathology”. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, vol. 11, no. 2 (1980): 50-78.

Session 8 (April 4): A Personal Illness: Psychopathology Required reading: • Femi Oyebode. Sims’ Symtoms in the Mind. 4th Edition. Philadelphia: Elsevier 2008, Ch. 1 (pp. 3-25). • Thomas Fuchs. “Phenomenology and Psychopathology”. In S. Gallagher and D. Schmicking (eds.) Handbook of Phenomenology and Cognitive Science. New York: Springer 2010 (pp. 546-573).

Optional Reading: • Nancy C. Andreasen. “DSM and the Death of Phenomenology in America: An Example of Unintended Consequences”. Schizophrenia Bulletin, vol. 33, no. 108 (2007): 108-112. • Aron L. Mishara and Michael A. Schwartz. “What Does Phenomenology Contribute to the Debate About DSM- 5?” In: Joel Paris & James Phillips (eds.) Making the DSM-5: Concepts and Controversies. New York: Springer 2013 (pp. 125-142).

Philosophy of Mental Health | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology

Syllabus Spring 2017

3rd short written assignment (due Monday, April 17)

Session 9 (April 11): Care and Caring: The Values and Norms of Mental Health Required Reading • George Graham. The Disordered Mind. London: Routledge 2013, Ch. 5 (pp. 107-145). • Michael Slote. The Ethics of Care and Empathy. London: Routledge 2007, Ch. 7 (pp. 104-124).

Optional Reading • Richard J. McNally. What is Mental Illness? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2011, Ch. 7-8 (pp. 184-211). • Marilyn Nissim-Sabat. “Race and Culture”. In: J. Radden (ed.) The Philosophy of Psychiatry: A Companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2004 (pp. 244-257).

Session 10 (April 18): Being a Person: Well-Being over Time Required reading: • George Graham. The Disordered Mind. London: Routledge 2013, Ch. 6 (pp. 148-176). • Daniel M. Haybron. The Pursuit of Unhappiness. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2008, Ch. 11 (pp. 224-251).

Optional Reading: • Timothy D. Wilson. Strangers to Ourselves. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2002, Ch. 1 (pp. 1-17). • George Graham. The Disordered Mind. London: Routledge 2013, Ch. 7 (pp. 177-202).

Session 11 (April 25): Dealing with Suffering: Therapy and Medicine Required reading: • Robert M. Berman et al. “Principles of the Pharmacotherapy of Depression. D.S. Carney and E.J. Nestler (eds.) Neurobiology of Mental Ilness, 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2008, Ch. 32 ‘ (pp. 491-514). • Louis C. Charland. “Why Psychiatry Should Fear Medicalization”. In: KWM FulFord et al. (eds.) Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Psychiatry. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2013, Ch. 13 (pp. 159-175).

Optional Reading: • Richard P. Bentall. Doctoring the Mind. London: Allen Lane 2009, Ch. 11 (pp. 262-289). • George Graham. The Disordered Mind. London: Routledge 2013, Ch. 8 (pp. 203-234)

Session 12 (May 2): Living with Fragility: A Life-Long Challenge Required reading: • Russell Meares. Intimacy & Alienation. London: Routledge 2000, Ch. 2-5 (pp. 7-39) • Truls Wyller. “The Place of Pain in Life”. Philosophy, vol. 80, vol. 3 (2005): 385-393.

Optional Reading: • George Graham. The Disordered Mind. London: Routledge 2013, Ch. 9 (pp. 235-265).

Final Paper (due Thursday, May 11)

Philosophy of Mental Health | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology