Philosophy of Psychology and Psychiatry

PHIL 6390: Philosophy of Psychology and Psychiatry

Fall 2022

Instructor: Dr. Jonathan Tsou

Course Description:

This graduate course examines the foundations of 20th century psychology and psychiatry from a philosophy of science perspective. The first half of the course focuses on important figures (e.g., Sigmund Freud, B. F. Skinner) and movements (e.g., structuralism, functionalism, psychoanalysis, behaviorism) in the history of 20th century psychology with emphasis on the philosophical assumptions of these psychological paradigms. The course focuses on how these competing psychological systems aimed to make psychology a scientific discipline. The second half of the course focuses on philosophical issues as they arise in psychiatry and clinical psychology. Specific issues addressed in the include the problem of defining “mental illness” or “mental disorder,” criticisms of disease explanations of abnormal behavior, evolutionary explanations of abnormal behavior, cross-cultural issues, and problems in classifying different disorders. Students will read a variety of perspectives in philosophy of psychiatry including writings by Thomas Szasz, R. D. Laing, Christopher Boorse, Jerome Wakefield, Rachel Cooper, and Ian Hacking.

Texts for the Course:

❑ Reading Packet (provided)

❑ Tsou, J. Y. (2021). Philosophy of Psychiatry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Course Evaluation:

Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%

Written Exam (week 5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25%

Exam in week 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25%

Final Paper (8-12 pages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%

Participation includes attendance and participation in class discussion. The written exam (week 5) is Q&A format – students will be given possible questions prior to the exams. The exam (week 10) is multiple choice format. Final papers can be on any topic covered in the philosophy of psychiatry part of the course. Students are expected to do some independent research for their final papers.

Course Schedule

Part 1: Philosophy of Psychology

1. Introduction: Paradigms in Psychology? 

❑ Buss, A. R. (1978), “The Structure of Psychological Revolutions”

2. Paradigms in Psychology: William James 

❑ James, W. (1890). “The Scope of Psychology”

❑ James, W. (1890). “The Stream of Thought” (excerpt)

❑ James, W. (1904). “Does Consciousness Exist?”

3. Paradigms in Psychology: James/ Sigmund Freud 

❑ Flanagan, O. (1997). “Consciousness as a Pragmatist Views It” (recommended)

❑ Freud, S. (1929). Civilization and its Discontents, chaps. 2-3

4. Paradigms in Psychology: Freud/ B.F. Skinner 

❑ Freud, S. (1929). Civilization and its Discontents, ch. 5, chs. 7-8.

❑ MacDonald, K. (1986). “Civilization and its Discontents Revisited” (recommended)

5. Paradigms in Psychology: Skinner 

❑ Skinner, B. F. (1971). Beyond Freedom & Dignity, chs. 1-3.

❑ Skinner, B. F. (1971). Beyond Freedom & Dignity, ch. 4, ch. 8.

6. Paradigms in Psychology: Review and Midterm 

❑ Dinsmoor, J. A. (1992). “Setting the Record Straight: The Social Views of B. F. Skinner”

(recommended)

❑ Review of James, Freud, Skinner

7. Midterm 

❑ *** WRITTEN EXAM (in class) ***

Part 2: Philosophy of Psychiatry

8. Szasz and the Anti-Psychiatry Movement 

❑ Szasz, T.S. (1960). “The Myth of Mental Illness.”

❑ Laing, R.D. (1967). “The Schizophrenic Experience.”

9. Labeling theory / Critics of Anti-Psychiatry 

❑ Scheff, T.J. (1963). “The Role of the Mentally Ill and the Dynamics of Disorder.”

❑ Sedgwick, P. (1973). “Illness-Mental and Otherwise.”

❑ Tsou, J.Y. (2020). “Skepticism about Biological Psychiatry” (recommended)

10. Critics of Anti-psychiatry 

❑ Boorse, C. (1976). “What a Theory of Mental Health Should Be.”

❑ Wakefield, J.C. (1992). “The Concept of Mental Disorder: On the Boundary between

Biological Facts and Social Values.”

11. Contemporary Approaches to Psychopathology: Wakefield

❑ Lilienfeld, S. and Marino, L. (1995). “Mental Disorder as a Roschian Concept: A

Critique of Wakefield's 'Harmful Dysfunction' Analysis.”

❑ Tsou, J.Y. (2020). “Defining Mental Disorder”

12. Boorse/ Wakefield

❑ Wakefield, J.C. (1999). “Evolutionary Versus Prototype Analyses of the Concept of

Mental Disorder.” (recommended)

❑ **** EXAM (in class) ***

13. Cross-Cultural Issues 

❑ Kleinman, A. (1988). “Do Psychiatric Disorders Differ in Different Cultures? The

Methodological Questions & The Findings.”

14. Thanksgiving Break 

❑ No class

15. The Looping Effects of Psychiatric Classifications

❑ Hacking, I. (1999). “Madness: Biological or Constructed?”

❑ Cooper, R. (2004). “Why Hacking is Wrong about Natural Kinds.”

❑ Tsou, J. Y. (2020). “Natural Kinds in Psychiatry” (recommended)

16. The Scientific Adequacy of the DSM and Pharmacological Interventions (Dec 7)

❑ Kirk, S. & Kutchins, H. (1994). “The Myth of the Reliability of the DSM”

❑ Breggin, P. (1996). “Should the Use of Neuroleptics be Severely Limited?”

*** FINAL PAPER DUE: Wednesday, Dec 15 ***

Grading Scale

Letter Grade         Range       

A                              90-100

A-                            86-89

B+                           82-85

B                              78-81

B-                            74-77

C+                           70-73

C                             62-69

F                              0-61

Academic Integrity and Dishonesty

The value of this course depends on each student doing his or her own work. Academic

dishonesty undermines individual learning and is unfair to the other students in class. Academic dishonesty in any form—including plagiarism, collusion, cheating, and misrepresentation—will not be tolerated and will lead to failure in the course and being reported to the Dead of Students. For information on academic dishonesty, see UTD’s Academic Integrity and Academic Dishonesty pages. 

Students are expected to abide by UTD’s Student Code of Conduct and the Comet Creed: “As a Comet, I pledge honesty, integrity, and service in all that I do.”

Class Attendance and Participation

Students are expected to attend class regularly and be prepared to discuss the course materials. Students who fail to participate in class regularly are inviting scholastic difficulty. A portion of the grade for this course is directly tied to your attendance and participation. It also includes engaging in group or other activities during class that solicit your feedback on materials covered in the lectures.

Classroom Conduct

During class, please turn off your phones, and do not send text messages, surf the internet, or check email. During classroom discussions, please be courteous and respectful towards your peers and instructor.

Disability

It is the policy and practice of UTD to make reasonable accommodations for students with properly documented disabilities. However, written notification from the Office of Student AccessAbility (OSA) is required. If you are eligible to receive an accommodation and would like to request it for this course, please discuss it with me and allow one week advance notice. Students who have questions about receiving accommodations, or those who have, or think they may have, a disability (mobility, sensory, health, psychological, learning, etc.) are invited to contact OSA for a confidential discussion. OSA is located in the Student Administration Building, AD 2.224. They can be reached by phone at 972-883-2098, or by email at: studentaccess@utdallas.edu.

Academic Support Resources

If you require academic support, please see the University’s Student Services and Support and Student Success Center pages.

The descriptions and timelines contained in this syllabus are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.