HPS 0612 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: American Psychiatric Association, Flat Feet, Drapetomania

• School: Pitt
• Department: History and Philosophy of Science
• Course: HPS 0612
• Professor: James Woodward

Document Summary

If a (cid:272)o(cid:374)ditio(cid:374) is a disease, it"s regarded as a (cid:373)edi(cid:272)al pro(cid:271)le(cid:373), and medical treatment will be provided (may not be true if not considered disease) Insurance issue insurers will pay for medical treatment if condition is a disease. If a condition is a disease, we usually do(cid:374)"t hold people fully responsible for their disease or the behavior associated w/ it: whe(cid:374) a (cid:272)o(cid:374)ditio(cid:374) is a disease, it"s pathologized & regarded as abnormal, deviant, or unnatural. A(cid:373)uel cart(cid:449)right"s drapeto(cid:373)a(cid:374)ia: te(cid:374)de(cid:374)(cid:272)y of sla(cid:448)es to ru(cid:374) a(cid:449)ay: he described as mental illness b/c this behavior is (cid:862)irratio(cid:374)al(cid:863) or (cid:862)u(cid:374)justified(cid:863) Thomas szaz thinks like this he does(cid:374)"t thi(cid:374)k (cid:373)e(cid:374)tal ill(cid:374)ess is a disease (cid:271)ut that mental illness comes from people"s pro(cid:271)le(cid:373)s i(cid:374) life. Until 1973, american psychiatric association classified homosexuality as a mental illness: widespread societal judgement that homosexuality is undesirable, example of medicalizing or pathologizing undesirable conditions.