Printable Syllabus
ISSUES IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY:
MENTAL ILLNESS, SCIENCE, AND SOCIETY
History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science (HIPS) 29403
Instructor: Jonathan Tsou
Tuesdays, 5:00 - 7:20 pm, Cobb 301, University of Chicago
(Off Hrs: Wednesdays, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm, SS 205)
Course Description:
This course will be a lecture-seminar course focusing on the topic of mental illness within the context of 20th century clinical psychology and psychiatry. The first half of the course will focus on issues pertaining to the scientific adequacy of concepts employed in clinical discourse, while the second half will focus on ethical issues. Scientific issues to be addressed in the course include the problem of defining "mental illness" or "mental disorder," criticisms of disease explanations of abnormal behavior and the medical model of deviance, evolutionary explanations of abnormal behavior, cross-cultural issues, and problems in classifying different "disorders." Ethical issues to be addressed in the course include the social implications of clinical categories, what the aims of clinical discourse and practices should be, and the prospects of alternative models (besides the medical model) for addressing the problem of abnormal behaviors. Students will read a variety of perspectives including writings by Thomas Szasz, R.D. Laing, Christopher Boorse, Peter Sedgwick, Jerome Wakefield, Arthur Kleinman, Carl Rogers, B.F. Skinner, Hobart Mowrer, and Michel Foucault.
Texts for the Course: (Required)
Packet of photocopied readings; for sale in SS 205 for $12.
(Recommended)
Miller, Ronald B. (ed.) (1992). The Restoration of Dialogue: Readings in the Philosophy of Clinical Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Course Requirements:
Students will be expected to have read the weekly readings carefully and be prepared to discuss them critically in class. Students will be required to give one short presentation (20 minutes) on one of the readings. Evaluation for the course will be based the following criteria:
1. Midterm Paper (6-8 pages) due in week 6: . . . . . . . . 35%
2. Final Paper (12-15 pages) due in week 11: . . . . . . . . 45%
3. Class Participation (including presentation): . . . . . . . 20%
Papers can be on any topic covered in the course. For the final paper, students may choose to expand on issues developed in their shorter midterm paper.
Course Schedule:
I. Introduction: Mental Health in Question
II. Thomas Szasz and the Anti-Psychiatry Movement
III. Critics of Szasz: Some Issues Regarding Disease Explanations of Abnormal Behavior
IV. Contemporary Approaches to Psychopathology: Jerome Wakefield's Evolutionary Definition of "Mental Disorder"
V. Critics of Wakefield: On the Scientific Legitimacy of Evolutionary Biological Explanations of Abnormal Behavior
VI. Cross-Cultural Issues and the 'Co-Morbidity' of Mental Illnesses
(MIDTERM PAPER DUE IN CLASS)
VII. The Role of Values in Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry
VIII. The Politics of Clinical Discourse and Practices
IX. Michel Foucault on Psychiatry and Madness
X. Debates on DSM
(FINAL PAPER DUE IN CLASS)
Recommended Readings (Below are readings that students may wish to consult for their papers)
Contemporary Scientific Approaches to Psychopathology
Philosophy of Psychiatry & Clinical Psychology Collections
Thomas Szasz & Anti-Psychiatry
For a comprehensive bibliography of Szasz, click here
Jerome Wakefield on Harmful Dysfunction and Mental Disorder
Scientific and Philosophical Issues
Ethical and Political Issues
For a good bibliography compiled by Kenneth Gergen, click here
Michel Foucault