CfR: Mental Disorders and Modal Properties

Date: June 12-13, 2023 (Mon/Tue), 09:00 AM – 06:00 PM CEST

Location: HU Berlin, Schönhauser Allee 10-11, 10119 Berlin (4th floor) and via Zoom 

There is an emerging trend to think about mental disorders in terms of modal properties, such as dispositions, capacities, abilities, or skills. Sanja Dembić (2021) and John T. Maier (2021), for example, understand “addictive disorder” as a specific kind of disability or inability. Dembić (2023; ms), Tad Zawidzki and Garson Leder (2023) argue that mental health and disorder, more generally, should be understood in terms of skills or abilities. Johnathan Fuller (ms, chapter 3) argues that mental disorders generally are dispositions. While all of these approaches have some crucial commonalities, a unified picture of specific mental disorders and mental disorders in general remains to be found. The goal of this workshop is to bring together scholars working within these approaches to share ideas, find common ground, and discuss remaining controversies.

 Organised by Fabian Hundertmark (Bielefeld University) and Sanja Dembić (HU Berlin)

Funded by Human Abilities and Inductive Metaphysics 

Website: https://www.human-abilities.de/events/workshop_mental-disorder.html

Monday (June 12):

09:00-09:30                Coffee & Introduction

09:30-11:00                Jonathan Fuller (University of Pittsburgh): DSM Diagnoses (Generally) Refer to Dispositions

11:00-11:30    Break

11:30-13:00                Sanja Dembić (HU Berlin): Are Mental Disorders Dispositions?

13:00-14:30    Lunch

14:30-16:00                Kristina Engelhard (Trier University): A Metaphysics of Mental Disorders: Mental Disorders Interfered Mental Capacities

16:00-16:30    Break

16:30-18:00                Fabian Hundertmark (Bielefeld University): The Modal Nature of Mental Disorders: A Comparative Analysis

19:00              Dinner

Tuesday (June 13):

09:00-09:30   Coffee

09:30-11:00                John Maier (Lesley University): Addiction and Ability

11:00-11:30    Break

11:30-13:00                Sophie Kikkert (HU Berlin): On the Relation Between Ability and Disability 

13:00-14:30    Lunch 

14:30-16:00                Garson Leder (Medical College of Wisconsin): Medical or Moral Kinds? Personality Disorders and Skilled Self-Regulation

16:00-16:30    Break

16:30-18:00               Tadeusz Zawidzki (George Washington University): Looping, Active Inference, Attention & Metacognitive Skill: New Foundations for the Bio-Psycho-Social Model