Silence, depression, and bodily doubt: toward a phenomenology of silence in psychopathology.
Dan Degerman
Philosophical Psychology May 20, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2024.2354447 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Depression Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Psychopathology Silence Merleau-ponty |
| Key points | Proposes a Merleau-Ponty-inspired phenomenological framework for analyzing silence experiences in psychopathology, arguing that first-person perspectives on silence have been neglected. Through a case study of 'empty silence' in depression, the paper contends that repeated experiences of empty silence can generate bodily doubt. |
Abstract
Despite the relevance of silence in several psychopathologies, first-person perspectives on silence have been largely neglected in the phenomenological scholarship on those conditions. This paper proposes a phenomenological framework for addressing this neglect and demonstrates its usefulness through a case study of empty silence, an experience which can be found in many first-person accounts of depression. The paper begins by surveying research on silence in depression in mental health research and phenomenological psychopathology. Drawing on the thought of Merleau-Ponty, it then outlines a phenomenological framework for explicating the structure of silence experiences in psychopathology. Finally, it applies this framework to articulate the experiential structure and implications of empty silence, with a particular emphasis on the bodily doubt that can flow from repeated experiences of empty silence.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on depression, most cited first.
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| The Yale Manual for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy of Depression (using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Therapeutic Frame) | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Neuroinflammation and neuroprogression in depression: Effects of alternative drug treatments | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Improving cognitive functioning in major depressive disorder with psychedelics: A dimensional approach | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |