ABSTRACT
On the inclusive view of brain disorders, there is more than one way of being a brain disorder. Paradigmatic brain disorders where there is a clearly identifiable aetiology in the brain are one kind of brain disorder; this is the only kind of brain disorder recognized by the narrow view. As well as presenting and criticizing the narrow view of brain disorders, the author have shown that it is still very prominent in the thinking of many people who reject the claim that mental disorders can also be brain disorders. Empirical evidence on the effect of brain disorder labels is mixed, but does suggest some negative effects. More generally, much of the resistance to the view that mental disorders are brain disorders rests on an understanding of the term ‘brain disorder’ that is both tendentious and not carefully thought through.
