Anya Plutynski, historian and philosopher of biology and medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, will discuss "Expertise from the Inside Out: How psychotherapy challenges standard models of expertise" for the Polanyi Lecture.

A central concern of much of psychotherapy research, clinical practice and training programs in psychotherapy over the course of the late 20th and early 21st century has been what it means to have "expertise" in the field. When can we say that a psychotherapist is an "expert?"

Plutynski will discuss the topic from the vantage point of her research interests in philosophy of biology, history and philosophy of medicine, philosophy of science and biomedical ethics. Her most recent book is Explaining Cancer: Finding Order in Disorder.

The Polanyi Lecture series honors the late chemist and philosopher Michael Polanyi by bringing to campus scholars who bridge science and the humanities.