Date of Award
Spring 2019
Thesis Date
5-2019
Degree Type
Honors Thesis-Unrestricted
Degree Name
B.A.
Department
Philosophy
Degree Program
Philosophy
Director
Robert Stufflebeam
Abstract
The reductionist tenets of the biomedical model of mental illness generate research methods and clinical practices that neglect significant cultural elements of mental illness. The biomedical model is reductionist because it assumes a view of the mind that lends itself to biological reductionism. Developing a more holistic model of mental illness requires replacing the accepted view of mind with a new one. In this paper, research demonstrating the significance of culture to mental illness will be reviewed in order to illuminate the flaws of the biomedical model. The extended mind theory will be analyzed and discussed as a potential basis for the development of a new paradigm within psychiatry, one which transcends the reductionist tendencies of the biomedical model.
Recommended Citation
Lin, Jennifer, "Towards A New Paradigm in Psychiatry" (2019). Senior Honors Theses. 132.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/honors_theses/132
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this honors thesis in whole or part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the honors thesis.