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Clearly argued and written, the book covers a wide range of philosophical issues, from the concept of mental illness and the political abuse of psychiatry to free will and responsibility.
List of contents
INTRODUCTION: PSYCHIATRY IN CRISIS The clash of paradigms, The idea of a paradigm, Psychiatry is not a normal science, 1 THE MEDICAL PARADIGM The medical paradigm explained, The virtues of the medical paradigm, Challenges to the medical paradigm, 2 SIGMUND FREUD AND THE PATHOLOGIZING OF NORMALITY The essentialist fallacy, The continuum fallacy, The naturalistic fallacy, The psychodynamic paradigm, 3 HANS EYSENCK AND THE NORMALIZING OF NEUROSIS Learning to be neurotic, Re-educating an illness, The behavioural paradigm. 4 RONALD LAING AND THE RATIONALIZING OF MADNESS Madness is method. The insane society. Laingian paradigms. 5 THOMAS SZASZ AND THE PHYSICALIZING OF DISEASE The dualist fallacy, The organic fallacy, The malfunction fallacy, The computer fallacy, The objective fallacy, The voluntary argument, The game-playing paradigm, 6 PETER SEDGWICK AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF ILLNESS Inventing disease, The spectre of cultural relativism, 7 THOMAS SCHEFF AND THE LABELLING OF DEVIANCE Strong labelling theory, Weak labelling theory, Values and relativity. 8 MICHEL FOUCAULT AND THE CIVILIZING OF MADNESS Standard psychiatric history, Foucauldian history, 9 PARADIGMS OF MENTAL ILLNESS, A taxonomy of paradigms, A unified view, The sophisticated medical paradigm 10 THE NATURE OF MENTAL ILLNESS Ethics and nosology, The definition of mental illness, Controversial cases, Boundaries 11 IS PSYCHIATRY A SCIENCE? What is a science? The observation base, Psychiatric explanation, Methodology 12 PSYCHIATRY AND RESPONSIBILITY Mental illness and responsibility, The existence of evil 13 THE PRACTICE OF PSYCHIATRY Involuntary hospitalization, Imposing our values CONCLUSION: THE NATURE OF PSYCHIATRY
About the author
Lawrie Reznek
Summary
Clearly argued and written, the book covers a wide range of philosophical issues, from the concept of mental illness and the political abuse of psychiatry to free will and responsibility.
