Abstract

In the debate over the definition of ‘mental health,’ three different approaches are generally distinguished: the normativist approach, the hybrid approach and the naturalistic approach. This paper qualifies this classification by clarifying the sense in which Christopher Boorse defends a naturalistic approachvis-à-visthe central concepts of psychiatry. This paper also clarifies in what way Boorse is opposed to the normativist approach advocated by some authors of the anti-psychiatric movement, such as Szasz.