Are Mental Disorders Brain Disorders?

Abstract

The mission of the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health is to transform understanding and treatment of mental disorders. According to its former director, Dr. Thomas Insel, fundamental to its mission is the proposition that “mental illnesses are brain disorders.” The aim of this article is to examine this proposition and to argue that it does not make sense. As a scientific proposition, it is based on contentious empirical claims, and as a metaphysical proposition, it is consistent with those who claim that a person is a brain. A conceptual analysis is employed as a tool to show that it is a category mistake to ascribe psychological properties of a person to a brain. The article concludes with a brief indication of the ethical implications of Insel’s proposition for mental health care.

Reconceptualizar los trastornos de personalidad

“…Ser distintivamente mental y no (meramente) somático/físico (e.g. Brülde y Radovic, 2006;Wakefield, 2006b;Banner, 2013;Joubert, 2016;Boorsbom et al, 2018;Jefferson, 2020).…”