Research Stephen Gadsby

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa and body integrity identity disorder involve pathological desires. In the case of anorexia, a desire for thinness; in the case of body integrity identity disorder, a desire for disability. Despite the clinical importance of these desires, there are critical gaps in our understanding of them. This project addresses three such gaps. First, what causes the desires? Second, what justifies classifying them as pathological? Third, what are their ethical implications? I will address these gaps by focusing on the concept of psychological dysfunction. I will investigate the forms of dysfunction that generate pathological desires, how those forms relate to their "pathological" classification, and their relevance to the ethics of treatment.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Nanay Bence
• Fellow: Gadsby Stephen

Research team(s)

• Centre for Philosophical Psychology

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

A mother sits in a courtroom, overhearing evidence that her son has committed a grave crime. While the evidence convinces everyone else in the courtroom, the mother is unpersuaded—she refuses to believe her son is guilty. This mother is self-deceived about her own son's innocence. Self-deception is considered to be a driving feature of many contemporary issues, from political polarisation to mental disorders. Despite the importance of self-deception, there remains significant gaps in our understanding of the phenomenon. Three such gaps relate to the process of self-deception (how does one successfully deceive themselves?), the outcome of self-deception (what do the self-deceived believe?), and the value of self-deception (is self-deception always harmful or is it sometimes beneficial?). By connecting research on self-deception from philosophy and behavioural economics, I will make progress on each of these issues. First, I will provide a novel philosophical account of the process, outcome, and value of self-deception, based on principles drawn from behavioural economics. Second, I will directly test some of the key research questions from the philosophical literature, by using experimental paradigms adopted from behavioural economics. Finally, I will outline the importance of philosophy to behavioural economic accounts of self-deception.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Nanay Bence
• Fellow: Gadsby Stephen

Research team(s)

• Centre for Philosophical Psychology

Project type(s)

• Research Project