Obsessive-compulsive existential type: a dialectical-phenomenological approach.
Lívia Fukuda, Melissa G Tamelini, Guilherme Messas
Frontiers in Psychology 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1211598 (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 | Anthropological disproportions Dialectical phenomenological psychopathology Dialectics Obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive existential type |
| Key points | Argues that the heterogeneous clinical manifestations of obsessive-compulsive disorder are the complex result of a primary structural alteration—the supremacy of the "anti-eidos" over the "eidos"—and subsequent phenomenological compensations, and proposes the "obsessive-compulsive existential type" as a complementary framework to the operational diagnostic paradigm. |
Abstract
The clinical presentation of obsessive-compulsive patients is characterized by unwanted, intrusive, nonsensical, self-related, and recurrent ideas, thoughts, images, or impulses associated with active compulsive compensations. Under the operational diagnostic criteria adopted by the biological- and cognitive-oriented neopositivist medical paradigm, it is known as "obsessive-compulsive disorder." However, this paradigm has been criticized for its controversial assumptions, limited methodologies, theoretic biases, and inconsistency in producing practical outcomes. To bypass some of these issues, we propose a complementary approach that draws on and further develops existing psychopathological studies of the obsessive-compulsive anthropological condition based on dialectical phenomenological psychopathology. As such, we refer to the global clinical configuration as the "obsessive-compulsive existential type." Our theoretical inspiration comes from the classical phenomenological work on obsessions undertaken by Straus and Gebsattel, which identified the negative transformation of the obsessive-compulsive life-world or the endogenous emergence of the anti-eidos (diluting existential force). We then propose to broaden the concept of anti-eidos, especially in its dialectical correlation with eidos (unifying existential force), representing the existential dialectic between transformation and permanence. Next, we detail the dynamics of anthropological disproportions in obsessive-compulsive existential type, essentially the supremacy of the anti-eidos over the eidos. This primary imbalance modifies the obsessive-compulsive existential structure, consisting of polymorphic temporality; weakened intentionality; maladjusted calibration of distance with the world and others; an integral, isolated, besieged self with dwindling self-agency, and tense and over-protecting embodiment. We also analyze compensatory hyperreflexivity and compulsive rituals as expressions of structural counterbalancing designed to contain the primary structural disproportions and derangements. The heterogeneous obsessive-compulsive clinical manifestations are the complex result of the primary structural alteration and subsequent phenomenological compensations. They tend to be variable in temporal span and rarely assume a fixed form, hindering diagnosis. We correlate structural frameworks with multiple clinical examples. Finally, we raise some insights on how our study may contribute to scientific research and therapeutic proposals.
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| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
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Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Navigating groundlessness: An interview study on dealing with ontological shock and existential distress following psychedelic experiences. PLoS One 2025
- The Embodied Mind as Pharmacological Target: Towards a Phenomenology of Psychopharmacological Interventions. Psychopathology 2025
- A phenomenological approach to the phenomena of anxiety: a scoping review. Frontiers in Psychology 2026
Cites 8
- The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
- The Psychopathology of Hyperreflexivity The Journal of Speculative Philosophy 2010
- Phenomenology and neurobiology of self disorder in schizophrenia: Secondary factors. Schizophrenia Research December 1, 2015
- Phenomenology as a resource for translational research in mental health: methodological trends, challenges and new directions. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences January 16, 2023
- The Dialectics of Altered Experience: How to Validly Construct a Phenomenologically Based Diagnosis in Psychiatry. Frontiers in Psychiatry April 12, 2022
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