Humanizing Mental Illness: Enhancing Agency through Social Interaction

Mental illness stigma is rooted in a perceived lack of agency, but stigma itself undermines agency. Humanizing Mental Illness argues that we can enhance the agency of people with mental illness by adjusting our social practices and adopting epistemic and moral virtues. Abigail Gosselin illustrates the importance of social interaction for developing and exercising agency.

Format: Hardback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 15 August 2021
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press

Mental illness stigma is deeply entrenched in a perceived lack of agency, yet stigma itself undermines the very essence of agency. While most philosophical accounts of the issue focus on determining the extent of agency a person with mental illness possesses, this book takes a different approach by asking how we can enhance the agency of individuals with mental illness.

Humanizing Mental Illness delves into these intricate connections, contending that all of us have the capacity and responsibility to modify our social practices to promote the agency of people with mental illness. This agency is multifaceted and complex, often hindered directly by a person's symptoms and indirectly by the pervasive stigma surrounding mental health. Abigail Gosselin, a scholar in the field of social philosophy and a person with a psychiatric disability, serves as a powerful illustration of the significance of social interaction in fostering and exercising agency. By overcoming mental illness stigma and cultivating certain epistemic and moral virtues, we can engage with individuals who have mental illness in ways that enhance their agency and enable them to thrive.

Humanizing Mental Illness underscores the need to confront our explicit and implicit biases and develop the skills to interact with mental illness in more intentional, supportive, and inclusive ways. It challenges us to broaden our perspectives and understand that mental illness is a natural part of the human experience, deserving of respect, empathy, and understanding. Through this book, we gain valuable insights into the complexities of mental illness and the potential for positive change in our society.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780228006787