PHIL345

In this course, we will be focusing on a variety of issues concerning the existence and nature of mental disorder. These issues are naturally formulated as questions and may include the following: What exactly is mental disorder? How does it differ from brain disorder? Does mental disorder even exist? (Some theorists, including psychiatrists, have denied this.) What are some paradigm (clear-cut) cases of mental disorder? Might there be borderline case as well, such as profound grief or psychopathy? If borderline cases do exist, what does this suggest about the nature of mental disorder and of mental phenomena more generally? What can reflection on mental disorder tell us about free will and responsibility, the distinction between appearance and reality, the nature of the self or soul? What can such reflection tell us about the distinction between the irrationality associated with mental disorder and the irrationality we think of as mere foolishness? What can we learn about human nature by reflecting on what makes all of us vulnerable to mental disorder?