Professor Duff Waring
dwaring@yorku.ca

Is schizophrenia a brain disease or is it better understood as a troubled mode of being-in-the-world? There has been a recent growth in philosophy of psychiatry that draws heavily on two philosophic traditions. Analytic philosophy is applied to better understand psychiatry through an analysis of its fundamental concepts. There is much unease about these concepts and the extent to which some of them are equivocal as between moral and biomedical interpretations. Indeed, this unease runs through the concept of mental disorder itself. [1] The phenomenological/existential tradition is applied to better understand the lived experience of those diagnosed with mental disorders and to compliment a neuroscientific, brain-based analysis of biochemical causation. Schizophrenic pathology might make greater sense if we see it as a response to a personal type of suffering that is mediated by the network of interpersonal relations with which the schizophrenic must cope.

Many philosophers attempt utilize these traditions as frameworks for collaboration by which the split between humanistic and biological models of psychiatry might be overcome. The established biological model of psychiatry is premised on the viewpoint that “mental disorders” have a causal basis in specific biochemical and physico-functional irregularities of the brain. It minimizes the relevance of lived experience in favour of a detached, often reductionist, third-person emphasis on biochemical etiology. The humanistic model of psychiatry aims to reclaim the lived experience of mental disorder as an explanandum in its own right. An emerging idea in the philosophy of psychiatry is that knowledge of neurobiological processes and a method of phenomenological description that stays close to the lived experience of mentally disordered persons might complement each other in research and treatment. Hence the growing interest in making connections between neuroscientific findings about the brain and phenomenological descriptions of experience that would integrate the biological as an aspect of a patient’s lived experience that “does not assume explanatory power for the totality of that patient’s life.”[2] This course will explore current work from both philosophical traditions in an attempt to better understand four areas of interest: 1) the role of moral values in psychiatric diagnosis and treatment; 2) the limits of our ability to understand the meaning of a mentally disordered person’s experiences, beliefs and utterances; 3) the conceptual, normative and scientific foundations of psychiatry and 4) ethical and epistemological issues pertaining to psychiatric research and pharmaceutical and psychotherapeutic treatments.

[1] K.W.M. Fulford, Katherine J. Morris, John Z. Sadler, and Giovanni Stanghellini, “Past Improbable, Future Possible: The Renaissance in Philosophy and Psychiatry,” in Nature and Narrative: An Introduction to the New Philosophy of Psychiatry, eds. K.W.M. Fulford, Katherine J. Morris, John Z. Sadler, and Giovanni Stanghellini (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 10. See also Natalie Banner and Tim Thornton, “The New Philosophy of Psychiatry: Its Recent Past, Present and Future: A Review of the Oxford University Press Series International Perspectives in Philosophy and Psychiatry,” Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 2 (2007): 1-14.

[2] Larry Davidson, “Developing an Empirical Phenomenological Approach to Schizophrenia Research.”

Journal of Phenomenological Psychology 23 (1992): 3–15.

Technical requirements for taking the course: I expect all students to participate in this course 1) through video conferencing via ZOOM on the Moodle course website and 2) that you also participate I ZOOM tutorial/seminar discussions. In addition to stable, higher-speed Internet connection, students will need a computer with webcam and microphone, and/or a smart device with these features.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to Moodle

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices 

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.]

Times and locations: Please note that this is a course that depends on remote teaching and learning. There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus. The seminar will be held every Tuesday during the Fall term, from 11:30 – 2:30.

Virtual office hours: I will be using Zoom for your virtual office hour, which will be every Wednesday from 10 until 11 a.m. I will schedule the meeting time as recurring, and designate myself as host. Disable audio and video for all participants entering the meeting.

All required readings are online. Most are available through the Yorku library system. Some are available online via a simple Google search. All are listed in the syllabus, which I urge you to read carefully.

Seminar Presentation: 15%. Presentation dates will be assigned by the second seminar.

Major Paper Outline with Bibliography (8-10 pages max, double-spaced, not including bibliography): 25%.  It is due in class on Mon. Feb. 10.

Major Paper (15-20 pages max, double-spaced, exclusive of bibliography): 60%.

It is due in class on Mon. Mar. 30.

These essays must be argumentative. See the Essay Writing Handbook for Philosophy Students posted on the Moodle Course Website.

• Welcome to the seminar.Please note that this will be a remotely delivered course. There will be no in-person interactions in this course. Trust me, this is not my preferred way to teach, but if we work together, then we can make the most of it. This curse has both synchronous and asynchronous elements. There will be two components to the delivery of this course. The first is a pre-recorded 40 - 50 minute lecture which I will post at least two days before the scheduled class time. This will be the asynchronous part of the course. We are scheduled to meet every Tuesday from 11:30 until 2:30 beginning on Sept. 15. I will host a live ZOOM meeting via the Yorku Moodle course website every Tuesday from 12:30 - 2:30. This will be the synchronous part of the course. You can listen to the lecture for the first hour of our scheduled class time and then join the discussion. Or, you can watch it a day before or a day after. I will also hold a ZOOM office hour every Wednesday morning from 10 until 11. It's up to you whether you attend these live ZOOM sessions or not but if you want to make the most of this seminar, then I urge you to do so. I want to be thinking out loud with you about the topics for each week's class (see the syllabus). These discussions can help you work up ideas for your major paper. Please read the syllabus carefully. All required readings are available online.

* To understand how analytic and existential/phenomenological traditions in philosophy are applied to the analysis of basic psychiatric concepts as well as the problems of value, meaning and fact that this medical discipline presents.

* To understand competing models of psychiatry.

*To understand competing modes of psychiatric treatment

* To understand key conceptual and methodological issues in psychiatric research.

Course policies

The lecture recordings should be used for educational purposes only. Students do not have permission to duplicate, copy and/or distribute those recordings outside of the class (these acts can violate not only copyright laws but also FIPPA). All recordings will be destroyed after the end of classes.

Academic Integrity:

I take academic integrity very seriously. I require that you be honest about submitting your own work and that you cite your sources with accuracy. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Please review the Yorku Academic Integrity tutorial before class. To do so, go to the Academic Integrity web site at York University (spark.library.yorku.ca › academic-integrity-what-is-academic-integrity). This tutorial is designed to help you learn about central aspects of academic integrity. It explores plagiarism and related matters with excellent examples and supportive strategies. It will aid you in your academic endeavors and help you to avoid breaching the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty. I will not grade a paper unless I am satisfied that the academic honesty requirements have been met. I use Turnitin.com to verify this and will provide instructions for submission on the Moodle course website.

Late Penalties:

Written assignments must be submitted to me on time. Late submissions will be penalized 5% per day. All submissions are to be sent to me via e-mail (dwaring@yorku.ca). In exceptional cases (e.g., serious illness with proper and legible documentation from a physician), I may exercise discretion and waive the late penalty.

Grading:  The grading scheme for the course conforms to the 9-point grading system used in undergraduate programs at York (e.g., A+ = 9, A = 8, B+ - 7, C+ = 5, etc.).  Assignments and tests* will bear either a letter grade designation or a corresponding number grade (e.g.  A+ = 90 to 100, A = 80 to 90, B+ = 75 to 79, B 70 to 74, C+ 65 to 69, C 60 to 64, D+ 55 to 59, D 50 to 54, E 40 to 49 and F is anything below 40).

For a full description of York grading system see the York University Undergraduate Calendar - http://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/pdfs/ug2004cal/calug04_5_acadinfo.pdf.

The Senate Grading Scheme and Feedback Policy stipulates that  (a) the grading scheme (i.e. kinds and weights of assignments, essays, exams, etc.) be announced, and be available in writing, within the first two weeks of class, and that, (b) under normal circumstances, graded feedback worth at least 15% of the final grade for Fall, Winter or Summer Term, and 30% for ‘full year’ courses offered in the Fall/Winter Term be received by students in all courses prior to the final withdrawal date from a course without receiving a grade (see the policy for exceptions to this aspect of the policy - http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/gradfeed.htm).