Lived body and experience of illness: a phenomenological approach
Xavier Escribano
Estudios de Filosofía 2024 DOI: 10.17533/udea.ef.355095 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that a phenomenology of the lived body offers a needed philosophical account of illness from the patient's perspective, countering the Cartesian body-machine paradigm's de-emphasis of personal illness experience. Contends that this perspective captures first-person elements such as alteration or disintegration of the I-body-world-others link, and that reflections on illness converge on identity, vulnerability, and recognition. |
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to show how the development of a phenomenology of the lived body is of special interest for a philosophical elucidation of the illness that takes charge of the patient's perspective in its specific theoretical relevance. Starting from a critique of the Cartesian paradigm of the body-machine and the consequent de-emphasis of the personal experience of the disease, it will be shown how the phenomenological perspective allows us to account for the constituent elements of the illness experienced in the first person, such as alteration or disintegration of the link I-body-world-others. Finally, the question of the physical, emotional, and cognitive response to the disease and the way in which phenomenological reflections on the disease converge in a reflection on identity, vulnerability, and recognition will be addressed.