Literature as an exploration of the phenomenology of schizophrenia: disorder and recovery in Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son.
Jay A Hamm, Bethany L. Leonhardt, Rebecca L Fogley, Paul H Lysaker
Medical Humanities December 2014 DOI: 10.1136/medhum-2013-010464 (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 | Metacognition Psychosis Recovery Schizophrenia |
| Key points | Argues that reading Jesus' Son as a fictional psychosis narrative reveals features of schizophrenia's phenomenology, including psychological fragmentation, an ever-changing interpersonal field, and loss of personal agency, and offers an individualized account of recovery. Proposes these elements intertwine as a profound disruption of self-experience characterized by a collapse of metacognitive processes, and that the book can deepen understanding of subjective experience and demonstrate the humanities' value in exploring suffering. |
Abstract
When read as a fictional psychosis narrative, Jesus' Son, a collection of short stories by Denis Johnson, reveals important elements of the phenomenology of schizophrenia and recovery. It is possible that Jesus' Son, as a work of fiction, may be able to uniquely add depth and nuance to an understanding of the phenomenology of schizophrenia involving a state of psychological fragmentation, an ever-changing interpersonal field and a loss of personal agency. In addition, by following the protagonist in Jesus' Son as he begins to resolve some of his difficulties, the book also offers an individualised account of recovery. The authors detail how the book reveals these insights about schizophrenia and recovery and suggest that these elements are intertwined in such a manner that leads to a profound disruption of self-experience, characterised by a collapse of metacognitive processes. Jesus' Son may add depth to our understanding of the subjective experience of schizophrenia and recovery, and also may serve as one example in which the study of humanities offers an opportunity to explore the human elements in the most profound forms of suffering.
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 |