Existential health in an age of medical totalitarianism
A. Szymański
Journal of Philosophy of Education March 13, 2022 DOI: 10.1111/1467-9752.12637 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Proposes the concept of "existential health" to describe a psychic and social zest for life the author argues has been extinguished from social life since March 2020 by rolling lockdowns and totalitarian impulses within the medical-industrial complex. Argues that existential health, informed by Lygia Clark's relational art and psychedelic treatment of addiction, is irreducible to the specialized domain of psychology signified by the "mental" in mental health. |
Abstract
If mental health has become a reactionary concept, much like the notion of public health in the age of the Covid-19 pandemic, then how can critical theory best elaborate a concern for well-being which includes both a psychic and social dimension? This article proposes the concept of existential health to grasp the salubrious zest for life that has been extinguished from social life since March 2020, due to rolling lockdowns and the rise of totalitarian impulses within the medical-industrial complex. It draws on the relational art practice of Lygia Clark along with developments in the psychedelic treatment of addiction to articulate a vision of existential health in an age of mental illness that is irreducible to the specialised domain of psychologists signified by the ‘mental’ in mental health. © 2022 The Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain.
Citations in the library
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