About Philosophy SIG

"At first glance, it might seem like a very niche area, but it is in fact (in my humble and perhaps biased opinion) one of the most important and far-reaching areas in the whole of contemporary philosophy."

Sam Wilkinson (Philosophy of Psychiatry – A Contemporary Introduction. Routledge, 2023)

So, why philosophy as a special interest for a psychiatrist or trainee?

"Philosophy whose etymology means love of wisdom can be defined in a variety of ways: One way is to say that philosophy is the most general or comprehensive type of inquiry."

Lawrence Cahoone (The Great Courses, 2013)

"As soon as a field of inquiry yields knowledge susceptible of exact formulation it is called science. Every science begins as philosophy and ends as art: It arises in hypothesis and flows into achievement."

Will Durant (The Story of Philosophy, 1926)

All the sciences of today emerged from philosophy. The history and philosophy of psychiatry are the foundations of psychiatry. How did we, as psychiatrists, get here in terms of what we practise? Why would any psychiatry trainee or psychiatrist not have a special interest in these subject matters?

With so many questions remaining unanswered in the field of mental health, we need to return to the basics and fundamentals. Perhaps, the field of mental health is not a fully formed science. For example, before we identify a patient as having a delusion, we may need to ask basic and fundamental questions such as what is reality and how do we know it? Welcome to the field of metaphysics and epistemology.

I acknowledge the unique experiences and reality of those with lived or living experience of mental illness and their carers. We cannot take metaphysics and epistemology for granted as much of what actual clinical practice and care entails depends on the individual practitioner’s unacknowledged metaphysics and epistemology in addition to their values and cultural contexts. The field of philosophy of mental health (with psychiatry as the core) is enormous, such that the necessary research and scholarship cannot be adequately covered by the training programme for psychiatrists or any mental health professional. That said, the average psychiatrist has the privilege of being a clinician who must apply some elements of the philosophy of psychiatry (whatever their unacknowledged philosophy may turn out to be) in their day-to-day practice, which makes all practicing psychiatrists philosophers of psychiatry to some degree – and amateur philosophers of mind. To put it another way, your overall combined knowledge (your epistemology) and ethics with which you practice medicine and psychiatry is your philosophy.

I have come in as chair of the Philosophy SIG over three decades after its founding and in an interesting time and context. I happen to be a working psychiatrist based in Australia, and an unapologetic amateur philosopher (although I do have a University of Bristol MA in Philosophy of Biological and Cognitive Sciences). I am a Fellow of the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and an international member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The international connections of this SIG is significant with members of the group pioneering the International Network for Philosophy and Psychiatry (INPP) and the Oxford University Press Series – IPPP ( International Perspectives on Philosophy and Psychiatry). Don’t be alarmed by the erudite and scholarly aspects of this SIG. This is a time and promise for the amateur philosopher.

"Philosophy is a hypothetical interpretation of the unknown (as in metaphysics), or of the inexactly known (as in ethics or political philosophy). It is the front trench in the siege of truth. Science is the captured territory, and behind it are those secure regions in which knowledge and art build our imperfect and marvellous world."

Will Durant (The Story of Philosophy, 1926)

Looking for truth in the trench of mental health will be no easy undertaking, but the amateur philosopher psychiatrist is already in this trench and whether she practices with truth depends on her interpretive synthesis - her philosophy.

Let us remain in this trench with sceptical critical thinking and innovative ideas. In the process we could advance, not just the philosophy of psychiatry, but when we get it right, the science and practice of our profession.

Science gives us knowledge but only philosophy can give us wisdom.

I welcome all trainees and members as amateur philosopher psychiatrists if they have a special interest in this area – there is no ending regarding actual learning, understanding, speculation, synthesis and potential for individual contribution when you have the interest! Join the SIG or email me to be part of the SIG grassroots.

Dr Temi Metseagharun
Chair of the RCPsych Philosophy SIG

Over the years the Philosophy SIG has supported meetings with the Philadelphia Association. In 2007, the two groups conjointly organised the 4th RD Laing Conference. In recent years the Philosophy SIG has also put on workshops or symposia in the Annual College Meeting.

Members of the SIG have been instrumental in building up the International Network for Philosophy and Psychiatry (INPP). The INPP website hosts a Resource Base of references, précis, and links to relevant publications in the interdisciplinary field. There are now links with similar groups in over 20 countries.

The INPP has pursued a series of international conferences every few years, the 14th International Conference for Philosophy and Psychiatry was held in September 2011 in Gothenborg Sweden:

Ethics, Experience and Evidence: Integration of Perspectives in Psychiatry

Our connections with our American counterpart, the Association for the Advancement of Philosophy and Psychiatry, led to a new journal called Philosophy Psychology and Psychiatry (PPP). Launched in 1993, it is still published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Following the success of PPP, Oxford University Press has brought out a series entitled International Perspectives on Philosophy and Psychiatry. Professor Bill Fulford, one of the founding members of the Philosophy SIG is joint editor of the series (he was also a joint founding editor of PPP). This series now has a large number of volumes relevant to the philosophy and practice of psychiatry.

The philosophy SIG focuses on a central aim, which is to encourage philosophical thought and conceptual analysis amongst psychiatrists. To this end, we are delighted that the new curriculum for the membership examination includes a specific focus on philosophy and ethics.

The philosophy SIG continues to encourage educational activities within the College both through workshops at the Annual Meeting and also through other CPD activities, which include the running of local groups.

Local groups always depend on the enthusiasm of individuals and, as such, such groups have come and gone. The Scottish section of the philosophy SIG continues to foster meetings on a regular basis. There has been a strong group formed in London centred on the Maudsley and, in recent years the HUMAN Group in Nottingham has been encouraging interdisciplinary meetings.

Other groups have existed in the past in both Sheffield and Oxford and the philosophy SIG would always be pleased to hear of local groups and to advertise their meetings.

Research is also an important part of the dialogue between philosophers and psychiatrists. The Philosophy SIG has links with teaching and research programmes at Oxford and London.

Masters and doctoral programmes have been available from a number of universities in recent years in relation to philosophy and psychiatry. The Institute of Philosophy, Diversity and Mental Health at the  University of Central Lancashire runs a distance learning masters programme based on the Oxford Textbook of Philosophy and Psychiatry. Also available by local teaching and/or distance learning is:

MPhil in Philosophy & Ethics of Mental Health at University of Pretoria, South Africa.

One of the functions of the Philosophy SIG is to examine the ways in which philosophy can be brought to bear on practice and also seen to emerge from the context of practice.

A main contention of those interested in the philosophy of psychiatry is that conceptual problems lie at the heart of clinical practice. It is for this reason that we are excited that the work of the Philosophy SIG continues to burgeon and broaden.

In the last few years we have seen philosophy of psychiatry having an impact on initiatives within the Department of Health through, for instance, the notion of  values based practice. For instance, we can now point to documents from the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) and the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) that make reference to values based practice, a concept that has emerged directly from work in the philosophy of psychiatry.

The development of the Philosophy SIG over the last 25 years has been exciting and stimulating for all those involved and there is no reason to believe that this excitement and stimulation is set to do anything other than to continue in the future.

The following  podcast gives a good introduction into philosophy of psychiatry.

Membership is open to all Members of or Associates of the College. Others may apply and be invited to join at the discretion of the Chair.

To join, please login and update your membership profile or email the College.