Keywords
Citation
(2012), "Philosophical Issues in Psychiatry II – Nosology", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 25 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2012.06225faa.016
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Philosophical Issues in Psychiatry II – Nosology
Philosophical Issues in Psychiatry II – Nosology
Article Type: Recent publications From: International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Volume 25, Issue 6
Edited by Kenneth S. Kendler and Josef Parnas,OUP,April 2012,ISBN 978-0-19-964220-5
Keywords: Psychiatric diagnosis and management, Psychiatric disease and disorders, Classification of diseases
Psychiatric and psychological practice and research is critically dependent on diagnosis. Yet the nature of psychiatric diagnosis and the rules by which disorders should be created and organized have been highly controversial for over 100 years. Unlike simple medical disorders (like infectious diseases), psychiatric disorders cannot be traced to one simple etiologic agent.
The last two generations have seen major conceptual shifts in the approach to diagnosis with the rise of operationalized criteria and an emphasis on a descriptive rather than etiological approach to diagnosis. The interest in psychiatric diagnoses is particularly heightened now because both of the major psychiatric classifications in the world – DSM and ICD - are now undergoing major revisions. What makes psychiatric nosology so interesting is that it sits at the intersection of philosophy, empirical psychiatric/psychological research, measurement theory, historical tradition and policy. This makes the field fertile for a conceptual analysis.
This book brings together established experts in the wide range of disciplines that have an interest in psychiatric nosology. The contributors include philosophers, psychologists, psychiatrists, historians and representatives of the efforts of DSM-III, DSM-IV and DSM-V. Some of the questions addressed include:
- 1.
What is the nature of psychiatric illness? Can it be clearly defined and if so how?
- 2.
What is the impact of facts versus values in psychiatric classification?
- 3.
How have concepts of psychiatric diagnosis changed over time?
- 4.
How can we best conceptualize the central idea of diagnostic validity?
- 5.
Can psychiatric classification be a cumulative enterprise seeking improvements at each iteration of the diagnostic manual?
Each individual chapter is introduced by the editors and is followed by a commentary, resulting in a dynamic discussion about the nature of psychiatric disorders.
Contents include:
- 1.
The Basics – The Definition of Psychiatric Illness and Rules for Classification
- •
Classification and causal mechanisms – a deflationary approach to the classification problem– Progress and the Calibration of Scientific Constructs: The Role of Comparative Validity
- •
- 2.
Taking Disease Seriously: Beyond “Pragmatic” Nosology
- •
Is psychiatric classification a good thing?
- •
- 3.
The Historical Development of Modern Psychiatric Diagnoses
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The nosological entity in psychiatry: an historical illusion or a moving target?
- •
The Nineteenth Century Nosology of Alienism: History and Epistemology
- •
The Development of DSM-III from A Historical/Conceptual Perspective
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DSM IV: Context, Concepts and Controversies
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- 4.
Application to Major Depression
- •
A philosophical overview of the problems of validity for psychiatric disorders
- •
Structural Validity and the Classification of Mental Disorders
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- 5.
Application to Major Depression and Schizophrenia
- •
When Does Depression become a Mental Disorder?
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The DSM-IV and the founding prototype of schizophrenia: are we regressing to a pre-Kraepelinian nosology?
- •
- 6.
The Way(s) Forward
- •
Rendering Mental Disorders Intelligible: Addressing Psychiatry’s Urgent Challenge
- •
Diagnostic Threshold Considerations for DSM-5
- •
Epistemic Iteration as an Historical Model for Psychiatric Nosology: Promises and Limitations
- •