BIOS 414: Philosophy of Psychiatry

Course Description

This course explores philosophical questions raised by psychiatric disorders and our attempts to explain them. The philosophy of psychiatry is a rapidly growing field that addresses the underlying conceptions and assumptions in psychiatric research and clinical practice. We will connect psychiatry to debates in the philosophy of science and philosophy of mind, such as scientific classification, causal and mechanistic explanations, the natural kind debate, the mind/body problem, and ethical issues raised by recent attempts to use AI. The course familiarizes students with methods and theories in the philosophy of science that can be applied to the special sciences generally.