Brinkmann Svend
Aalborg University, Teglgårds Plads 1, Aalborg, 9000, Denmark.
Integr Psychol Behav Sci. 2024 Dec;58(4):1048-1063. doi: 10.1007/s12124-024-09837-9. Epub 2024 Apr 3.
A shared problem in psychology, psychiatry, and philosophy is how to define mental disorders. Various theories have been proposed, ranging from naturalism to social constructionism. In this article, I first briefly introduce the current landscape of such theories, before concentrating on one of the most influential approaches today: The harmful dysfunction theory developed by Jerome Wakefield. It claims that mental disorders are hybrid phenomena since they have a natural basis in dysfunctional mental mechanisms, but also a cultural component in the harm experienced by human beings. Although the theory is well thought through, I will raise a critical question: Is it possible to isolate mental mechanisms as naturally evolved from cultural factors? I will argue that it is not, but that the theory could still be helpful in an understanding of mental disorders, albeit on a new footing that does not operate with a natural and a cultural component as two separate factors. I argue that we need to develop a "naturecultural" approach to psychopathology that avoids mentalism, based on the fact that human beings are irreducibly persons.
心理学、精神病学和哲学领域存在一个共同问题，即如何定义精神障碍。人们提出了各种理论，从自然主义到社会建构主义。在本文中，我首先简要介绍这些理论的当前概况，然后重点关注当今最具影响力的方法之一：杰罗姆·韦克菲尔德提出的有害功能障碍理论。该理论认为，精神障碍是混合现象，因为它们在功能失调的心理机制中有自然基础，但在人类所经历的伤害中也有文化成分。尽管该理论经过深思熟虑，但我将提出一个关键问题：是否有可能将自然进化的心理机制与文化因素隔离开来？我将论证这是不可能的，但该理论在理解精神障碍方面仍然可能有所帮助，尽管是基于一个新的基础，即不将自然和文化成分作为两个独立因素来运作。我认为，基于人类不可简化为人的事实，我们需要发展一种避免心理主义的“自然文化”精神病理学方法。
