PSYCHIATRY BEYOND SCIENTISM: EXPLORATORY MODELS, PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES, AND SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXTS

January 22-24, 2015
VU University Amsterdam

Confirmed speakers:

Denny Borsboom (University of Amsterdam)
John Campbell (UC Berkeley)
Bill Fulford (University of Warwick)
Mona Gupta (Université de Montréal)
Gerben Meynen (Tilburg University)
Erik Rietveld (University of Amsterdam)
John Sadler (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center)

This international three-day conference investigates the role and nature of knowledge in psychiatry, both as a scientific discipline and as a professional practice. It aims to create a platform for an in-depth philosophical discussion on different forms of theoretical knowledge (e.g., statistical, molecular, genetic, psychological, social) and their interrelatedness, what happens when these forms of knowledge are applied in psychiatric practice, and how they are translated to and received by the general public. The conference is part of a broader research project, titled ‘Science beyond Scientism’. In general terms, scientism is the claim that only science can provide us with knowledge about ourselves and the world around us. In the context of psychiatry, this manifests itself most clearly in the tension between theoretical knowledge acquired in a scientific setting and practical knowledge applied to the concrete cases in the consultation room. The aim of the conference is to investigate this tension, and explore how scientific knowledge can be integrated with other sources of knowledge, such as practical understanding, expertise, experience, intuition and wisdom.

CALL FOR PAPERS/POSTERS

We welcome submissions on the following three topics:

1) Models of explanation in psychiatry

• the relation between different levels of explanation (e.g., biological, ecological, psychological, social)
• conceptual questions about (different) notions of  explanation, understanding and causation as they figure in scientific and clinical practice.
• reductionism and non-reductionism
• the integration of different types of knowledge and explanatory models

2) Psychiatry as normative practice

• psychiatry as a scientific discipline versus psychiatry as a normative practice
• the relation between practical (first-person) knowledge and theoretical (third-person) knowledge
• other forms of knowledge in psychiatric practice: expertise, experience, intuition, wisdom etc.
• the role of metaphors and analogies in the practical application of theoretical knowledge
• evidence-based medicine, values-based practice, CanMeds and other models of psychiatry

3) Psychiatry in the public context

• the influence of metaphors and analogies on the public image of psychiatry
• the impact of classification manuals like DSM V
• medicalization and stigmatization
• professional ethics

SUBMISSION DETAILS

There are two types of presentation:

• 20-minute oral presentations (plus 10 minutes for discussion)
• poster presentations

Please submit your abstract by November 1st 2014 via email to: Abrahamkuypercenter@vu.nl

See www.abrahamkuypercenter.vu.nl/call-for-papers for submission details. 

CONFERENCE VENUE

VU University Amsterdam
De Boelelaan 1105
1081 HV Amsterdam
Netherlands

ACCOMODATION

Information on accommodation and other administrative matters will be sent directly to all designated participants approximately three months before the conference. This information will also be made available on the conference website: abrahamkuypercenter.vu.nl/Psychiatry-Beyond-Scientism

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Leon de Bruin (Abraham Kuyper Center for Science and Religion / VU University Amsterdam; Radboud University Nijmegen)
Gerrit Glas (Abraham Kuyper Center for Science and Religion / VU University Amsterdam; Dimence Zwolle)
Derek Strijbos (Dimence Zwolle; Radboud University Nijmegen)

The organizers gratefully acknowledge the support of the Templeton World Charity Foundation