ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 first lists the diagnostic descriptions of and clinical guidelines for treating ADHD, then goes on to present relevant literature on what a diagnosis is, what role diagnoses are playing in contemporary health care, and how diagnoses “act” and are being acted upon by the people receiving a diagnosis. While some studies pragmatically outline the consequences of being diagnosed, others are more critical of what is conceived of as an expansion of a diagnostic gaze and a diagnostic language in society. Moreover, the chapter introduces theories about the biologization of mental illness and the effect of neuroscientific knowledge entering into various academic disciplines. Finally, the chapter discusses how these theories potentially change our conception of the human being in general and of mental illness in particular.
