New approaches to philosophy of mind and psychiatry

“New approaches to philosophy of mind and psychiatry” is a workshop organized by drd. Sandra Branzaru, drd. Cătălin Teoharie, Doctoral School of Philosophy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, in collaboration with Alexandra Ciubotaru (resident in Psychiatry, Alexandru Obregia Psychiatry Hospital), Alexandru Bîcu and Olguţa Barizi (alumni Cognitive Science BA, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science). The event will take place at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, March 28th-29th 2026.

This workshop aims to explore, but it is not limited to, conceptual clarification of psychiatric concepts, especially in light of new approaches in philosophy of mind, such as embodied, situated, extended and enactive cognition, but also predictive processing. We will also explore pluralistic approaches to the nature of psychiatry as ascience, as well as ontological, explanatory, and value pluralism. Recent developments in bioethics and applied ethics also call for philosophical refection in regards to equal access to mental healthcare, the autonomy and agency of patients, and decision-making with respect to potential treatment schemas.  AI (artificial intelligence) has also been integrated in mental healthcare, so we are interested in understanding the risks and benefits of their use. On the one hand, they might aid or enhance diagnostic precision, personalized treatment and care option, pre-evaluation of treatment efficacy. On the other hand, this raises challenges such as privacy of highly sensitive patient data or regulatory, policy and standardization issues that arise from the lack of regulation of mental health uses of AI.