Pain and the field of affordances: an enactive approach to acute and chronic pain
Sabrina Coninx, Peter Stilwell
Synthese December 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1007/s11229-021-03142-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Affordances Biopsychosocial Ecological psychology Existential feelings Pain therapy |
| Key points | Proposes that the transition from acute to chronic pain can be understood as changes in the field of affordances—the possibilities for action perceived by the subject—and that an enactive approach offers a comprehensive heuristic for pain therapy. |
Abstract
In recent years, the societal and personal impacts of pain, and the fact that we still lack an effective method of treatment, has motivated researchers from diverse disciplines to try to think in new ways about pain and its management. In this paper, we aim to develop an enactive approach to pain and the transition to chronicity. Two aspects are central to this project. First, the paper conceptualizes differences between acute and chronic pain, as well as the dynamic process of pain chronification, in terms of changes in the field of affordances. This is, in terms of the possibilities for action perceived by subjects in pain. As such, we aim to do justice to the lived experience of patients as well as the dynamic role of behavioral learning, neural reorganization, and socio-cultural practices in the generation and maintenance of pain. Second, we aim to show in which manners such an enactive approach may contribute to a comprehensive understanding of pain that avoids conceptual and methodological issues of reductionist and fragmented approaches. It proves particularly beneficial as a heuristic in pain therapy addressing the heterogenous yet dynamically intertwined aspects that may contribute to pain and its chronification.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Enactive and simondonian reflections on mental disorders. Frontiers in Psychology August 3, 2022
- Not in the drug, not in the brain: Causality in psychedelic experiences from an enactive perspective Frontiers in Psychology April 3, 2023
- Existential feelings as a phenomenological framework for psychedelic therapy Philosophical Psychology October 9, 2024
- An Enactive-Ecological Model to Guide Patient-Centered Osteopathic Care. Healthcare June 12, 2022
- The biopsychosocial model is lost in translation: from misrepresentation to an enactive modernization. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice May 28, 2022
Cites 9
- The Oxford Handbook of 4E Cognition Oxford University Press eBooks September 13, 2018
- Radicalizing Enactivism The MIT Press eBooks December 14, 2012
- The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
- Bio-psycho-social interaction: an enactive perspective. International Review of Psychiatry August 1, 2021
- Out of our heads: Addiction and psychiatric externalism. Behavioural Brain Research February 1, 2021
and 4 more in the library