TITLE:
Philosophical and Ethical Perspectives on How We Could Know Recovery from Schizophrenia and Their Impact on Knowledge Development
AUTHORS:
Minjeong Kim
KEYWORDS:
Schizophrenia, Recovery, Philosophy, Ethics
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol.7 No.1,
December
15,
2016
ABSTRACT: This paper discussed various philosophical and ethical perspectives on how to know recovery from schizophrenia. According to the empirical approach, recovery can be measured by objective and standardized tools which evaluate the severity of psychiatric symptoms or levels of social and vocational functioning. These measurements have minimum scores or sets of criteria of what recovery looks like, so this approach may be useful to evaluate patient’s treatment outcomes by healthcare providers. On the contrary, phenomenological approach stands qualitative research methods to understand an individual’s subjective, lived, or unique experiences while he or she lives with schizophrenia. Historical perspective holds that a point of view on recovery has been changed from negative to positive as our social perspectives for schizophrenia changes. Feminist perspective suggests that recovery can be understood by exploring female’s subjective experiences like successful marriage life or having responsibility for children. Ethical perspectives regarding the meaning of recovery were also addressed. Each philosophical and ethical perspective guides different research methodology and methods. Therefore, to employ appropriate methodology and methods, understanding philosophical and ethical backgrounds would be important.