Psychiatry and Philosophy of Science

Recent years has seen a growth in cross-disciplinary contact between philosophy of science and psychiatry. This book explores the conceptual issues in psychiatry from the perspective of analytic philosophy of science. It focuses on those features of psychiatry that distinguish it from many other sciences: the subject matter of psychiatry is contested; psychiatry employs particular modes of explanation; mental health professionals work within different theoretical frameworks; psychiatry is problematically value-laden; psychiatry is essentially action-guiding; and psychiatric research is tied up with big business. Through an examination of these topics, Cooper argues that psychiatry is similar enough to other sciences for ideas from the philosophy of science to be helpful in solving conceptual problems within psychiatry. Simultaneously, psychiatry is also different enough from other sciences for an investigation of psychiatry to enable old problems in the philosophy of science to be viewed from a new and fruitful angle. Aimed at both mental health professionals and philosophers, the book is an important addition to the literature on this rapidly expanding field of study.