Through examining the ways that values are enmeshed in three scientific research programs related to psychiatry, this project merges two significant strands of recent intellectual history: contemporary philosophy and sociology of science, which tell us that values have an influential role in shaping science; and social critiques of psychiatry, which are prompting reevaluation of psychiatric understanding and treatment of mentally disordered people. The project aims to analyze and specify the particular manifestations of values within the three programs. It hypothesizes that significant conflicts will be found between scientific, professional, and social values. These conflicts may partly determine the results of the research program. The research areas are psychiatric genetics, psychopathological personality theory, and psychopharmacology. The project will assemble the relevant scientific, professional and lay literatures for each focus. The analyses will focus on specific research questions and scientific controversies within each of the three areas. The project uses a descriptive-causal model to identify and differentiate values in scientific discourse. Values are defined as descriptions or conditions that both guide human action and lead the actor to be susceptible to praise or blame. The model's classification scheme is used to identify the various ways that values appear in written discourses and address a variety of value-related questions such as: What roles do values play in the comparison of competing theories within a scientific controversy? What ontological assumptions are involved in the various theoretical and research focuses, and how does the research privilege these assumptions? What role do practical, professional and social interests play in shaping the research program and its findings? What are the ethical implications of the research? A philosophy of science consultant and scientist-consultants in each of the three areas will aid in collection and interpretation of the respective literatures, and results of these analyses will be published in professional and humanities journals.
