The butterfly and the serpent: culture, psychopathology and biomedicine.
R Littlewood, M Lipsedge
Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry September 1, 1987 DOI: 10.1007/bf00048517 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that features of culture-bound syndromes apply to Western neurosis, with biomedicine providing a 'mystical sanction' similar to that in small-scale societies. |
Abstract
Cultural explanations of psychopathology in the West have rarely employed models derived by anthropologists for small-scale non-literate communities. Some general features of those ritual patterns usually classed as 'culture-bound syndromes' are applicable to Western neurosis. Such reactions articulate both personal predicament and public concerns, usually core structural oppositions between age groups or the sexes. They gain their power by relying on certain unquestionable assumptions which, although beyond everyday jural relationships, articulate such relationships. In the case of Western reactions, such 'mystical sanction' is provided by biomedicine. Theoretical paradigms emphasize either the individual pragmatic or expressive aspects, or social homeostasis.
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
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