Mental Disorder

Abstract Does having a mental disorder excuse bad behavior? On a standard naïve view, the mentally ill are often regarded as clear examples of individuals lacking full-fledged freedom and responsibility. However, our evolving understanding of the brain and human agency reveals that there is more agency in mental disorders than it might seem at first blush. Psychopathology affects agency in such a variety of ways that it’s difficult to draw an inference about one’s moral responsibility merely from the fact that one has a mental disorder. Symptoms only sometimes reduce one’s agency and sometimes enhance it. This nuanced view paves the way for a cognitive continuum on which all people lie, which can help to reduce the stigma we commonly attach to mental disorders.