Hoffman, Kate Nicole (2026) (How) Can We Attribute Mental Disorders to Animals? [Preprint]
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Abstract
Although mental disorder categories were originally developed to explain and predict human psychology and behavior, in certain cases, namely, in cases involving animal caregiving and welfare, these categories have been extended to animal minds. This is in tension with the
views of the majority of the scientific community, which tends towards skepticism about the utilization of mental health categories in non-human cases. This paper considers the feasibility of applying mental disorder categories to animals, and explores why different fields have drawn different conclusions on the matter. Using a comparison between human obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and animal stereotypic behavior, and drawing on literature in psychiatry, philosophy of science, animal models, and philosophy of disability, I explore the various considerations relevant to whether and how mental disorders can be attributed to cases of abnormal animal behavior.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | animals, mental disorders, psychiatry, stereotypies, welfare | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science Specific Sciences > Psychology > Comparative Psychology and Ethology General Issues > Ethical Issues Specific Sciences > Neuroscience General Issues > Philosophers of Science General Issues > Science and Society |
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| Depositing User: | Kate Nicole Hoffman | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 04 Jun 2026 13:58 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 04 Jun 2026 13:58 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 29897 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science Specific Sciences > Psychology > Comparative Psychology and Ethology General Issues > Ethical Issues Specific Sciences > Neuroscience General Issues > Philosophers of Science General Issues > Science and Society |
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| Date: | 2 June 2026 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/29897 |
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