Can The Psychopathologized Speak?

The latest issue of the journal Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology contains my commentary, “Can The Psychopathologized Speak?: Notes on Social Objectivity and Psychiatric Science.” It is in response to an excellent article by Bennett Knox, which won the 2021 Jaspers Award by the Association for the Advancement of Philosophy and Psychiatry (AAPP).

Knox argues that the exclusion of the “psychopathologized” from processes such as the revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) constitutes a form of epistemic injustice (hermeneutical ignorance) that threatens to undermine the social objectivity of psychiatry as a scientific discipline.

I agree with the core argument in my commentary but bring up details that complicate the overall picture. I write: “While it is clear that the exclusion of psychopathologized standpoints in psychiatric science cannot be justified, there are issues that arise that require further clarification, and may generate disagreements, when we consider the complexities of how this inclusion is to take place, what requirements can be imposed on this process of inclusion, and the relationship between the DSM and psychiatric science broadly when it comes to social objectivity.”

The featured article by Knox, two accompanying commentaries, and the author’s response are all open access on the PPP website for the next 2 weeks. If you don’t have access to the journal, I encourage you to read the articles (or download the pdfs) while they are still available.

Knox — Exclusion of the Psychopathologized and Hermeneutical Ignorance Threaten Objectivity

Aftab — Can The Psychopathologized Speak?: Notes on Social Objectivity and Psychiatric Science

Bueter — On the Limits of Diversity

Knox — Standards and Assumptions, the Limits of Inclusion, and Pluralism in Psychiatry