IMH Lunchtime Seminar - Stephen Gadsby

In Defence of the Rationality of Eating Disorders

with Stephen Gadsby, PhD student, School of Philosophical, Historical & International Studies, Monash University

"People who suffer from eating disorders commonly believe they are “fat”, when in fact they are dangerously thin. While such beliefs appear irrational, in this talk, I argue that they may in fact be rationally justified. I do so by showing how these beliefs are grounded and reinforced by abnormal bodily experiences that people with eating disorders suffer from. As I will discuss, my view holds significant ethical, explanatory, and clinical implications."

Stephen Gadsby conducts interdisciplinary research into a broad range of related topics within philosophy, psychology, and psychiatry. These topics include eating disorders, delusions, self-deception, Bayesian accounts of cognition, and body representation. He is a PhD candidate in the Philosophy and Cognition Lab, Monash University, and a visiting student at the Dijkerman Lab, Utrecht University.

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