Jonathan Lee, MD, PhD (@jonlee112)
Current position:
- Clinical Assistant Professor – Depression Clinic, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences (Stanford School of Medicine)
- Creator of the “Am I Good? Examining Life Through the Lenses of Philosophical Skepticism, Moral Philosophy, & Existentialism” psychotherapy group in the Anxiety and Depression Adult Psychological Treatment Clinic
- Creator of “Decompositionism”, an approach to philosophical psychotherapy
Education/training
- PhD – Health Economics (Stanford School of Medicine)
- PhD minor – Economics (Stanford University)
- MA – Political Science (Stanford University)
- Psychiatry Residency Training – Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences (Stanford School of Medicine)
- MD (University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine)
- MBA (University of Chicago, Booth School of Business)
- BA – Molecular Biology (Pomona College)
Psychiatry and philosophical therapy at Stanford University
Jonathan Lee, MD, PhD (@ jonlee112) practices psychiatry, including psychotherapy, at Stanford University. He utilizes psychopharmacology alongside a particular approach to philosophical therapy, which he has termed ‘Decompositionism‘.
Decompositionism is an approach to philosophical psychotherapy, developed by Jonathan Lee, MD, PhD (@ jonlee112), which is informed by knowledge from neuroscience, psychology (CBT, DBT, ACT), and philosophy…
- Epistemology, Skepticism
- Metaphysics, Ontology
- Philosophy of Language
- Philosophy of Mind
- Moral Philosophy, Metaethics
- Existentialism
…Decompositionism revolves around the use of analytical approaches aimed at decomposing cognitive concepts (words, phrases, thoughts, ideas, emotions, beliefs, etc) into their most fundamental components or features.
Jonathan Lee, MD, PhD (@ jonlee112) designed Decompositionism to examine fundamental questions such as:
- What is truth? What is reality? How do we know what we know? How do our brains/minds learn?
- What actually exists in the universe?
- What do we mean by the words, phrases, and concepts that we invoke in daily life?
- What is right vs. wrong? What are our moral obligations?
- What is good vs. bad?
- What is the meaning of life? What is the point of life? What is the purpose of life?
- Does free will exist?
Research at Stanford University
The research of Jonathan Lee, MD, PhD (@ jonlee112) focuses on the causes and consequences of, as well as solutions to, rising skepticism and distrust in sources of expert information (e.g., science, health). He has a special interest in exploring skepticism and persuasion at the intersection of health and politics, which includes studying phenomena such as the politicization of science and health, political polarization, filter bubbles/echo chambers, and the emerging post-truth world. He draws on theories and methods from his uniquely interdisciplinary set of educational, research, and professional experiences, including those from experimental and behavioral economics, political science, psychology, philosophy, and machine learning.
