The endurance of uncertainty: Antisociality and ontological anarchy in British psychiatry, 1950-2010

Abstract

Research into the biological markers of pathology has long been a feature of British psychiatry. Such somatic indicators and associated features of mental disorder often intertwine with discourse on psychological and behavioral correlates and causes of mental ill-health. Disorders of sociality - particularly psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder - are important instances where the search for markers of pathology has a long history; research in this area has played an important role in shaping how mental health professionals understand the conditions. Here, I characterize the multiplicity of psychiatric praxis that has sought to define the mark of antisociality as a form of ontological anarchy. I regard this as an essential feature of the search for biological and other markers of an unstable referent, positing that uncertainties endure - in part - precisely because of attempts to build consensus regarding the ontology of antisociality through biomedical means. Such an account is suggestive of the co-production of biomarkers, mental disorder, and psychiatric institutions. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014.