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The attitudes of psychiatrists to philosophy

Green College, Oxford

G. Adshead, Senior Registrar in Forensic Psychiatry

Institute of Psychiatry, London SE5 8AF

^* Correspondence: K.W.M. Fulford, Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX

Questionnaires exploring the attitudes of psychiatrists to philosophy were distributed at two meetings of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Out of a possible 240, 126 questionnaires were returned (53%). The results showed a surprisingly high level of interest in and support for philosophy. Over 50% of respondents indicated that they considered conceptual analysis, ethics, jurisprudence, the philosophy of science and the philosophy of mind to be practically important in psychiatry. Similarly, 89% believed that ethics, and 72% that other areas of philosophy, should be included in the MRCPsych syllabus. The significance of the study is reviewed briefly.