Somogy Varga

The relationship between self‐realization, and so what I really wholeheartedly endorse and owe to myself, and morality or what we owe to others is normally thought of as antagonism, or as a pleasant coincidence: only if I am indebted to such relations as my fundamental projects that I care wholeheartedly about does morality have a direct connection to self‐realization. The aim of this article is to argue against this picture. It will be argued that the structure of self‐realization and the caring activity involved commits the person to values that are beyond the object of his wholehearted caring, in a way that might just pave the way to morality.

This book is unique in integrating a hermeneutical perspective to understanding mental illness - one that places an emphasis on analysing and interpreting the language used within a therapeutic encounter, whilst also considering the context in which it is expressed. Within the book, the reader will how learn such an approach can reveal more about mental illness than some of the more traditional psychiatric methods currently used today. In addition, the book shows us how a hermeneutically informed approach can be valuable for understanding the concept of mental disorder itself, making it valuable for all those within the fields of psychiatry and philosophy of mind.

Although the Historical concept of melancholia has undergone numerous metamorphoses, it has maintained a place in psychiatric classification and currently refers to a specific melancholic subtype of major depression (American Psychiatric Association 2000, 419). Although melancholia—as a description of pathological states—constitutes the focus of this paper, it must be pointed out that the range of states encompassed by melancholia cover a far wider spectrum than that covered by the term ‘disease.’ As Jennifer Radden notes, melancholia (and melancholy) referred to “both a normal disposition and a sign of mental disturbance” (Radden 2000, ix), thus covering a wide range of emotional variations that cannot be reduced ..