| Abstract: | "When we say that someone has or suffers from a mental illness, we assert a logically highly dubious proposition. It is virtually impossible to ascertain whether this proposition is true or false, because of the wide range of meaning that may be assigned to the term 'mental illness.' " Certain psychologists have used "the expression 'mental illness' to depreciate and injure others (particularly fellow professionals), but they also used its converse, 'mental health,' to promote the good fortune of those whom they liked and respected." It is desirable "to examine carefully the precise nature of the present status of our scientific (as well as everyday) attitudes toward problems of so-called mental illness." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2JA59S. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
