The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Psychiatry

Abstract

This book presents a lively cross section of recent cross-disciplinary research in the rapidly expanding field of philosophy and psychiatry. Co-branded between the Oxford Philosophy Handbookand IPPP ( International Perspectives in Philosophy and Psychiatry) book series, the volume includes a number of features designed to reflect the dynamic two-way interplay between theory and practice that has emerged as such a key feature of the new field. Thus, 1) the topics covered include many of the standard problems of philosophy (such as consciousness, other minds, freedom, and personal identity) but these are organised into sections reflecting the stages of the clinical encounter (from first contact, through psychopathology and diagnosis to causation and thence to care and cure); 2) although predominantly philosophical in focus each chapter draws in different ways on practice-informed expertise (including clinical, scientific and service user perspectives); 3) the development of the book was supported by an international advisory board including a mental health NGO as well as academic organisations; and 4) the book is further supported by a unique web-site resource of first-hand narratives of mental disorder and other practice-based materials. In incorporating these features, The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Psychiatryaims not merely to reflect the current state of the field but also to drive its further development as a distinctively philosophical contribution to twenty-first century mental health.