A core focus of several members of group is mental illness and the philosophy of psychiatry. A number of themes we are interested in include: how is mental illness defined? Changes in self-experience associated with schizophrenia and other conditions, the "illness" model of mental illness, which notions of rationality are most helpful in understanding mental illness.

Some specific interests the group is developing

• Schizophrenia (forthcoming workshop), especially the ipseity theory of schizophrenia.
  
• The nature of presence

There is a project in elaboration:

Philosophy of Mental Illness and Altered States of Consciousness

Main Researcher: Jorge Gonçalves

Research Team: Alexander Gerner, Robert Clowes, Vera Pereira, Inês Hipólito, João Gama Marques (……….)

Interdisciplinary project in Philosophy, Psychology and Psychiatry with the aims to be a seed project to be held by IFILNOVA and subsequently to be a formal application to the FCT.

The project aims to research themes under the problematic of Mental Illness and Altered states of consciousness. 

Methodology:  First and second person approaches.

Aims:
Publication of articles in journals included in the Scopus, WebScience, PubMed databases;
Organization of Workshops and Conferences with relevant researchers in the area;

To set up a website and an online journal;

To adapt and create research tools.