WFU professor to lecture on the nature of mental illness
Whether it’s schizophrenia, anxiety disorder or clinical depression, George Graham, Wake Forest University’s first A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy, contends that every mentally ill person is ill in the same general way. He will defend this view at his lecture titled, “What’s the Matter with Mental Illness?” on Sept. 19 at 4 p.m. in Tribble Hall’s DeTamble Auditorium.
Graham was one of the first faculty members in the philosophy department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), a department founded by Thomas K. Hearn Jr. prior to becoming president at Wake Forest. He held a cross appointment in psychology and served with UAB for 27 years before joining Wake Forest in January 2003. He is widely published, the winner of numerous teaching honors and of a Bellagio Residency Award from the Rockefeller Foundation for work on philosophy and mental illness, and president-elect of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology.
Graham’s interest in mental illness was sparked in part by his experiences during the Vietnam War as an aide in the psychiatric unit of a Harvard University teaching hospital.
A. C. Reid, in honor of whom Graham’s professorship is named, was chair for many years of the joint psychology and philosophy department at Wake Forest and, from 1958 until his retirement, chair of the philosophy department at Wake Forest. The professorship is supported by the A. C. Reid Philosophy Funds, which were established by Reid’s former students in honor of their beloved teacher upon his retirement.
The philosophy department, sponsor of the event, will hold a reception in the lobby following the lecture. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 336-758-5359.
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