In the field of psychopathology there is still a lack of consensus on how mental disorders, such as depression, should be classified and explained. Many of our current classifications suffer from disorder heterogeneity and are conceptually vague. While some researchers have argued that mental disorders are better explained from a biological perspective, others have made the case for pluralistic and integrative explanations. Using depression as an extended example, we explore the challenges in classifying and explaining psychopathology. We begin by evaluating the current approaches to classification, including frameworks for what we consider a mental disorder. This is followed by a detailed summary of current explanatory perspectives in psychiatry. The relationship between classification and explanation presents unique theoretical challenges in understanding mental disorders. We suggest that by adjusting our focus from understanding syndromes to clinical phenomena we can advance our understanding of mental disorders.

中文翻译：

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抑郁症的分类与解释

在精神病理学领域，对于如何对抑郁症等精神障碍进行分类和解释仍缺乏共识。我们目前的许多分类都存在无序异质性，并且在概念上很模糊。虽然一些研究人员认为从生物学角度更好地解释精神障碍，但其他人则提出了多元和综合解释的理由。以抑郁症为例，我们探讨了对精神病理学进行分类和解释的挑战。我们首先评估当前的分类方法，包括我们认为是精神障碍的框架。接下来是对当前精神病学解释观点的详细总结。分类和解释之间的关系对理解精神障碍提出了独特的理论挑战。我们建议，通过将关注点从理解综合征调整到临床现象，我们可以提高对精神障碍的理解。