As an example, recent work by Drysdale et al (2017) on biotypes of depression has identified anhedonia as a central characterizing symptom but has failed to factor in the influence of the research context, one where the preoccupation with the care of the self and the hedonic dimensions of experience are reaching unprecedented levels. 11.45 – 13.15: Lunch Keynote Lecture Moderator: Peter Zachar 13.15: Culture, Psychiatry, and Ontology – Jesse Prinz There is an enormous body of evidence that culture can influence psychiatric kinds. At one extreme, there are culturally-bound syndromes, but even those diagnostic categories that have some cross-cultural robustness can vary along many dimensions including symptoms, behavior, time course, effective remedies, biological correlates, clinical thresholds, prevalence, and distribution. Here, these variations are explored, with a focus on affective disorders. Against this background, two questions are raised: what is the best account of cultural influence and what implications does it have for ontology? Explanations for variation range from modest modulation theories (e.g., work on display rules and RDoC approaches that seek a biological core) to strongly constructivist accounts (e.g., dramaturgical and script theories). There are also accounts that try to divide and conquer, including psychiatric dualisms that distinguish culturally malleable conditions from genuine disorders. Correspondingly, there is also a wide range perspectives on the ontological status of psychiatric kinds. These include anti-realism, promiscuous realism, essentialism, causal cluster theories, network theories, and theories that relocate psychiatric reality at the level of symptoms. It is argued that cultural variation is deep, rather than superficial, favoring a position on the constructivist end of the spectrum. This puts considerable pressure on the strong forms of realism that have attracted philosophers in the literature on natural kinds, but other forms of realism are preserved, acknowledging social realities, structural disability, as well as lived experiences that profoundly impact individual. 14.10 – 14.20: Break Session 7 Moderator: Kathryn Tab 14.20: Managing One’s Cognitive-Emotional Life to Achieve Good Ends: Is Empathy Helpful? - Christopher Caulfield 14.40: Discussion
As an example, recent work by Drysdale et al (2017) on biotypes of depression has identified anhedonia as a central characterizing symptom but has failed to factor in the influence of the research context, one where the preoccupation with the care of the self and the hedonic dimensions of experience are reaching unprecedented levels. 11.45 – 13.15: Lunch Keynote Lecture Moderator: Peter Zachar 13.15: Culture, Psychiatry, and Ontology – Jesse Prinz There is an enormous body of evidence that culture can influence psychiatric kinds. At one extreme, there are culturally-bound syndromes, but even those diagnostic categories that have some cross-cultural robustness can vary along many dimensions including symptoms, behavior, time course, effective remedies, biological correlates, clinical thresholds, prevalence, and distribution. Here, these variations are explored, with a focus on affective disorders. Against this background, two questions are raised: what is the best account of cultural influence and what implications does it have for ontology? Explanations for variation range from modest modulation theories (e.g., work on display rules and RDoC approaches that seek a biological core) to strongly constructivist accounts (e.g., dramaturgical and script theories). There are also accounts that try to divide and conquer, including psychiatric dualisms that distinguish culturally malleable conditions from genuine disorders. Correspondingly, there is also a wide range perspectives on the ontological status of psychiatric kinds. These include anti-realism, promiscuous realism, essentialism, causal cluster theories, network theories, and theories that relocate psychiatric reality at the level of symptoms. It is argued that cultural variation is deep, rather than superficial, favoring a position on the constructivist end of the spectrum. This puts considerable pressure on the strong forms of realism that have attracted philosophers in the literature on natural kinds, but other forms of realism are preserved, acknowledging social realities, structural disability, as well as lived experiences that profoundly impact individual. 14.10 – 14.20: Break Session 7 Moderator: Kathryn Tab 14.20: Managing One’s Cognitive-Emotional Life to Achieve Good Ends: Is Empathy Helpful? - Christopher Caulfield 14.40: Discussion