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We could develop a Darwinian, Spartan, reality TV show: only the strong toddlers survive. Benefits: (1) Population control (2) Increased rate of progression towards the Nietzchean Ubermench (with the right script writers)

He's a spectacular orator. Often he comes across as though he is speaking in political catch phrases but unlike many politicians he understands the philosophical baggage that they carry (i.e. he uses them which much of the philosophical force they are meant to have). He is great fun to listen to...

I think that's a semantic distinction which is only really meaningful for those that better understand the system (i.e. I was using 'working as a psychiatrist' in the lay sense, not the more technical, heirarchichal sense which requires a bit more background understanding). The reason I said...

Also, for interest, here is a doc from the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK containing a rough curriculum which outlines the kind of knowledge someone is expected to acquire during training: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/files/pdfversion/cr95.pdf

First you need to get a medical degree from any accredited medical school. Then you work for 1 - 2 (or more) years as a junior hospital doctor (rotating through various areas of medicine). You then apply to training positions offered by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of...

Lacking in one of more of: - Certain characteristics (i.e. intelligent, cynical, idealist) - Passion for life/ideas (goes with the above) - Emotional chemistry - Physical attractiveness Or something along those lines... I find that I look for similar things in mates/dates, but with the...

I just stumbled across an article that I missed last year which discusses this very topic. It's a short, 2-page editorial from the American Journal of Psychiatry without any technical claptrap.

It's definitely one of the big don'ts, especially within some fields (e.g. psychiatry --> goodbye licence).

I think you're taking the idea of equality before the law in the wrong way. My understanding is that it is about individuals being subject to the same laws - this doesn't mean that laws can't differ across contexts. For example, I would argue that most people see some level of moral...

Haha, I'll have to keep you waiting I'm afraid. I have only just about finished the first of the three essays I need to have completed soon. Expect some potshots some time later this evening.

<3 philosophy

There are trolls and flamers in any BoS thread (/anywhere on the internet). Learn to ignore or otherwise manage them. Perhaps try to be selective in what your read and respond to? I realise that this can be difficult in a topic like this where emotions necessarily run high. There are...

Part of what I wanted you to note is that this also extends to many classically 'medical' illnesses. In other words, the problem of defining illness is not only an issue in mental health (also, read pages 2 - 7 of the attached DSM-V research agenda if you can be bothered). I think a number of...

This is where we need a suitable definition of what constitutes an illness. Consider the following candidates (I expect you to spot many flaws - N.B. I don't believe that any one of these models is sufficient to capture the concept): Statistical abnormality - something can be considered a...

Hmm, quite interesting. I'd love to know what it is. From your description (a high proportion of unpleasant experiences with frank hallucinations) it sounds quite possible that it is an anti-cholinergic class drug along the lines of datura (see if it is listed among the deliriants).

Fair enough. I'm not fussed really. Threads go where they please. If they enter abstract territory I become happy. (Hi - I'm Kieran, and I'm a utility addict <-- warning: colloquial use of a psychiatric category)

They do insofar as they relate to the project of psychiatry as a whole, which is of great relevance to the legitimacy of depression as an illness (and psychiatric diagnoses in general). Such case studies are often quite instructive. I don't see why we shouldn't be able to intelligently discuss...

Fair enough. I think gender identity disorder and the various paraphilias are good examples, as is ADHD depending on your perspective on the research (certainly ADHD constitutes a population variant, but the question is whether this difference should be pathologised and to what extent)...

Certainly, such a shift undermines the categorisation itself. However, it does not thereby undermine the entire DSM, though I feel that it does highlight a very important issue in psychiatry. There are very interesting moral dimensions through much of psychiatry. The research agenda paper for...

Apologies. DSM = the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders It is a text developed by the American Psychiatric Association which classifies, and provides diagnostic criteria for, mental disorders. It has fairly important implications for research, drug development and health...