Rationality and Compulsion: Applying Action Theory to Psychiatry Book

Preface     ix
General introduction     xi
Prolegomena to action theory and the theory of health
Elements of the philosophy of action     3
Introduction     3
Action theory and its complications     4
The nature of actions: actions and intentions     5
A modern theory of mind and matter     7
Actions and descriptions: the relation between intentions and actions     10
Action-types and action-instances     11
Actions under different descriptions     12
From simple actions to complex actions     13
Actions: their results and consequences     15
On complexes of actions     17
On the individuation of action-instances and of action-types     19
Actions that do not involve bodily movements     23
Rational actions and norms of actions     24
To perform an action and to perform an action well     26
Summary concerning classification of actions     32
On the possibilities for action: ability, opportunity, and competence     35
Introduction     35
Conditions of success     37
On not being able to act     40
On dependencies between abilities     41
On first- andsecond-order abilities     42
On different levels of ability     44
The distinction between a physical and a mental aspect of ability     45
On ability, know-how, and competence     47
Towards a theory of health and illness     51
Health as ability to realize vital goals     51
On the notions of disease, malady, and illness     56
On mental actions and mental health     59
On the understanding and explanation of actions     69
Introduction     69
On understanding actions     69
On explanation of actions     71
The relation between wants and intentions: a practical syllogism of wants     78
The intentional explanatory schema applied     78
A critique of the classical model: John Searle     81
Irrationality, compulsion, and mental disorder
Reasons for action and rationality     87
Introduction     87
On intentions and actions     89
On reasons for actions: good reasons, conclusive reasons, defective reasons, no reasons     90
A note on the concept of belief     93
On various levels of psychological reality of wants and beliefs     93
On defective rationalization of action      97
Introduction     97
Preliminary interpretations of the notion of a defective reason for action     99
Defective parts of a PSW: the case of defective beliefs     100
On defective wants: the idea of an irrational want     105
A summary of senses of irrational beliefs and wants     109
On the notion of defective rationalization of actions, where the parts of the PSW are not irrational in any of the senses described     110
Towards a theory of mental disorder: the place of compulsion     127
Introduction     127
On species of pathological irrationality: the central role of compulsion     130
On the notion of compulsion and its species: Aristotle, Wertheimer, and Audi     130
Towards a new analysis of compulsion     141
Introduction     141
A starting-point: the practical syllogisms     143
The idea of fixation     144
The case of coercion     148
Compulsion as a matter of degree     148
The idea of strong desires     150
On the notion of a compelling fact     152
On unavoidability and ability     153
Summary     154
Compulsion and specific mental disorders     157
A meeting point for action theory and psychiatry: the phenomenon of delusion     157
General remarks on mental illness and compulsion     165
A study of some psychiatric diagnoses involving compulsion     170
Summary     183
Epilogue     185
Summary of basic concept
Glossary     191
References     197
Index     203