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Vagueness in Psychiatry

Online ISBN:
9780191835414
Print ISBN:
9780198722373
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

Vagueness in Psychiatry

Geert Keil (ed.),
Geert Keil
(ed.)

Professor of Philosophy

Professor of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Humboldt University, Berlin
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Lara Keuck (ed.),
Lara Keuck
(ed.)

Research Fellow

Research Fellow, Humboldt University Berlin, Department of History
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Rico Hauswald (ed.)
Rico Hauswald
(ed.)

Research Fellow

Research Fellow, Dresden University of Technology, Department of Philosophy
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Published online:
December 2016
Published in print:
November 2016
Online ISBN:
9780191835414
Print ISBN:
9780198722373
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

Blurred boundaries between the normal and the pathological are a recurrent theme in almost every publication concerned with the classification of mental disorders. However, systematic approaches that take into account the philosophical discussions about vagueness are rare. This is the first volume to systematically draw various lines of philosophical and psychiatric inquiry together–including the debates about categorial versus dimensional approaches in current psychiatric classification systems, the principles of psychiatric classification, the problem of prodromal phases and subthreshold disorders, and the problem of overdiagnosis in psychiatry–and to explore the connections of these debates to philosophical discussions about vagueness. The book consists of an introduction (Part I) followed by three parts. Part II encompasses historical and recent philosophical positions regarding the nature of demarcation problems in nosology. Here the authors discuss the pros and cons of gradualist approaches to health and disease and the relevance of philosophical discussions of vagueness to these debates. Part III narrows the focus to psychiatric nosology. The authors approach the vagueness of psychiatric classification by drawing on contentious medical categories, such as PTSD or schizophrenia, and on the dilemmas of day-to-day diagnostic and therapeutic practice. Against this background, the chapters critically evaluate how current revisions of the ICD classifications and DSM manuals conceptualize mental disorders and how they are applied in various contexts. Part IV is concerned with social, moral, and legal implications that arise when being mentally ill is a matter of degree. Not surprisingly, the law is ill-equipped to deal with these challenges due to its binary logic. Still, the authors show that there are more and less reasonable ways of dealing with blurred boundaries and of arriving at warranted decisions in hard cases.

Disclaimer
Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always … More Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up to date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breastfeeding.
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