FIL2108 – The Philosophy of Psychology

Course content

One of the hallmarks of being human is that we can suffer as well as flourish. Focusing on positive psychology and clinical psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy, this course offers a sustained investigation of the conceptual and philosophical problems at the heart of the study of human well-being and human ill-being. Central topics include:

  • the nature of happiness and well-being
  • the nature and classification/diagnosis of mental disorder
  • the relation between mental health and mental illness (is happiness more than the mere absence of suffering?)
  • differing perspectives on mental disorder (neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, existentialism, phenomenology)
  • the implicit philosophical assumptions behind major psychotherapeutic traditions, especially concerning the good life

One guiding assumption of the course is that studying well-being and ill-being side by side can be mutually illuminating.

By the end of the semester, students will be equipped to interpret psychological theories and therapeutic practices through a philosophical lens. They will also be able to consider how conceptions of the good life both inform and are informed by the science and practice of psychology.

Learning outcome