The Physical Basis of Mental Illness
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2017
Place of publication: Milton
Language: eng
Number of pages: 170
ISBN-13: 9781351477390
Subjects: Mental illness; Physiological aspects; Psychophysiology; Maladies mentales; Aspect physiologique; Psychophysiologie
Description: "This accessible volume sets an ambitious goal: to help people better understand the nature of mental illness. The term itself is a problem for most who believe, consciously or not, that individuals have both a mind and a body. Ronald Chase is interested in the roots of this thinking about mental illness, and finds it in philosophical dualism, famously promoted by Rene Descartes in the seventeenth century. Chase believes this perspective contributes to the stigma associated with mental illness, and argues for a different conceptual understanding. He describes and evaluates several alternatives, including behaviorism, physicalism, and functionalism. He also explores whether mental states can be reduced to brain states, and whether mental events cause things to happen. His provocative answers suggest mind-body dualism is outdated and misleading, and some version of physicalism is more likely to help us understand mental illness. Chase presents a concise outline of the science of mental illness, with a focus on schizophrenia, noting that faulty brain development is the fundamental cause of major mental illness. Using detailed, but non-technical language, Chase describes how genes combine with environmental influences to produce changes in brain structures and functions. Chase insists on the need to understand mental illness as a biological phenomenon, yet accepts that people use mental terms and concepts in everyday discourse. This scientifically sound challenge to major assumptions currently in vogue with respect to mental illness will initiate a new dialogue on the subject. It will be important to academics, psychiatric professionals, and those affected by mental illness-victims, family members, and caregivers."--Provided by publisher.
Table of contents: title: Cover; Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; Preface; 1. Three Historical Vignettes; Athens, 470 BC; Strasbourg, AD 1585; Los Angeles, AD 1960; 2. The Search for Understanding; The Meaning of Illness; The Meaning of Mind; Physical versus Psychological Versions of the Medical Model; Some Say It's Not Even an Illness; Public Opinion is Confused and Misinformed; Dualistic Thinking in Psychiatry; Summary and Forward Glance; 3. Descartes' Dualism; Dualism Before Descartes; Dualism According to Descartes; Intuitions; Dualism in Contemporary Culture.; title: A Critique of Descartes' DualismEvolutionary Considerations; Summary and Forward Glance; 4. Dualism Supports Stigmatization and Other Unhelpful Attitudes; Stigmatization; The Sources of Stigma: Irrational Violence; The Sources of Stigma: Attributions of Personal Responsibility; Some Consequences of Attributed Responsibility; Can Stigma Be Eliminated?; Summary and Forward Glance; 5. Philosophical Alternatives to Cartesian Dualism; Inspired by Descartes; Behaviorism: Making Do Without Mind; Physicalism: A Popular Choice; Functionalism: Clever but Fuzzy; Are Mental States Reducible?; title: Can Mental Phenomena Cause Anything?Summary and Forward Glance; 6. Mental Illnesses are Brain Illnesses; Biological Psychiatry; Biomarkers; Mechanisms; Causes: Neural Development; Causes: Genes; Causes: Environment; Summary and Forward Glance; 7. Toward a Reconciliation of Philosophy and Science in Psychiatry; Philosophical Rumblings in the Psychiatric Community; Mental Causation is Okay in the "Special Sciences"; Do We Need to Rename Mental Illness?; Consequences for Attitudes and Worldviews; Bibliography; Index.