Mental disorder between naturalism and normativism

Abstract

AbstractWorries about the potential medicalization of social and moral problems has propelled the debate on the nature of mental disorder, with normativists insisting that psychiatric classification is inherently value‐laden and naturalists maintaining that a purely descriptive account of disease is possible. In recent work, some authors take a different path, accepting that the concepts of disease and mental disorder are value‐laden but maintaining that this does not prevent objective truths regarding mental disorder attribution. This paper explores two such accounts and the important steps they provide toward rethinking the nature and metaphysical status of mental disorder. The challenges raised in this paper are meant to contribute to the further development of this stimulating work.