Philosophy matters in brain matters

نویسنده

  • Siri Hustvedt
چکیده

PURPOSE Although most neuroscientists and physicians would argue against Cartesian dualism, Descartes's version of the psyche/soma divide, which has been controversial since he proposed it in the seventeenth century, continues to haunt contemporary neurological diagnoses through terms such as functional, organic, and psychogenic. Drawing on my own experiences as a person with medically unexplained seizures, I ask what this language actually means if all human experience has an organic basis. METHODS Close reading of a textbook chapter on psychogenic seizures. RESULTS I expose the author's unreflective embrace of psyche and soma as distinct entities, his inherent bias against illnesses labeled psychogenic, and the implicit sexism of his position. I further argue that even when a patient's symptoms are not alleviated, heightened self-consciousness and narrative framing can strengthen his or her sense of agency and have therapeutic benefits. CONCLUSION The ethical treatment of patients requires a respect for their stories.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

A native proposal for the philosophy of history

Though philosophy of history like other fields of knowledge has its roots in eastern traditional knowledge, as an epistemological branch it appeared in West and then entered in East. Present states of knowledge in Islamic Iran, particularly with regard to the necessities and grounds of change in humanities, have prepared an opportunity to present a proposal in the field of philosophy of history...

متن کامل

Sexual Dimorphism in Human Brain Weight and Volume of Gray and White Matter in Normal and Neurodegenerative Subjects - A Stereological and Macroscopic Study

Purpose: This study is designed to determine the sex differences in brain weight and volume of left hemisphere and its gray and white matters in right-handed normal subjects and the right-handed subjects which were suffered from Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases. Materials and Methods: This study was performed on 72 normal human brains (38 male, 34 female), 11 brains suffered from Alzheimer (4 ...

متن کامل

Examination of Legal Matters Covered in Elementary School Textbooks

Theoretically speaking, among topics that need to be covered throughout the elementary school years, legal ones loom large. In order to determine the extent to which this coverage is actually present in elementary school textbooks, a set of 17 such books from among 51 in total, deemed appropriate for such matters to be covered in, was selected and content analyzed utilizing concepts related to ...

متن کامل

Management Certainly Matters, and There Are Multiple Ways to Conceptualize the Process; Comment on “Management Matters: A Leverage Point for Health Systems Strengthening in Global Health”

The authors of “Management matters: a leverage point for health systems strengthening in global health,” raise a crucial issue. Because more effective management can contribute to better performing health systems, attempts to strengthen health systems require attention to management. As a guide toward management capacity building, the authors outline a comprehensive set of core management compe...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Seizure

دوره 22  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2013