Body Matters: A Phenomenology of Sickness, Disease, and Illness

by James Aho, Kevin Aho Professor of Philosophy,

Overview

Following the core principle of phenomenology as a return "to the things themselves," Body Matters attends to the phenomena of bodily afflictions and examines them from three different standpoints: from society in general that interprets them as "sicknesses," from the medical professions that interpret them as "diseases," and from the patients themselves who interpret them as "illnesses." By drawing on a crucial distinction in German phenomenology between two senses of the body—the quantifiable, material body (Körper) and the lived-body(Leib)—the authors explore the ways in which sickness, disease, and illness are socially and historically experienced and constructed.

To make their case, they draw on examples from a multiplicity of disciplines and cultures as well as a number of cases from Euro-American history. The intent is to unsettle taken-for-granted assumptions that readers may have about body troubles. These are assumptions widely held as well by medical and allied health professionals, in addition to many sociologists and philosophers of health and illness. To this end, Body Matters does not simply deconstruct prejudices of mainstream biomedicine; it also constructively envisions more humane and artful forms of therapy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739126981
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	06/19/2008
Pages:	206
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

James Aho is professor of sociology at Idaho State University. Kevin Aho is assistant professor of philosophy at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 1. Foundations
Chapter 3 2. The Lived-Body
Chapter 4 3. The Accelerated Body and Its Pathologies
Chapter 5 4. The Sicknesses of Society
Chapter 6 5. The Diseases of Medicine
Chapter 7 6. The Agonies of Illness
Chapter 8 7. Medicine and Phenomenology
Chapter 9 8. Recovering Therapy
Chapter 10 9. Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

Body Matters is a unique and fascinating account of human afflictions in a world dominated by biomedical notions of disease and illness. In a truly interdisciplinary collaboration between philosophy and sociology, James and Kevin Aho use the insights of phenomenology to help us see ourselves and our afflictions in a more thoughtful way.

Gesine Hearn

The book is a great contribution to the critical literature on health and illnesses. It is unique in its attempt to apply Husserl and Heidegger to health and illness….It is elegantly written and filled with numerous examples illustrating the argumentation.

Springer Science and Business Media

James and Kevin Aho have written an important book.

Metapsychology Online

This book should be especially welcomed by those working within medical humanities, though not so much by philosophers and others interested in phenomenology...It brings together, even if in a much simplified way, a set of intuitions originating mainly in Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology, neatly synthesizes and applies them to modern biomedicine with a critical intent. The outcome is comprehensive as far as the phenomenologically inspired divergent conceptualizations of pathological states of mind and body are concerned, and it is also often thought-provoking, well written and accessible to newcomers to the field.

The European Legacy – Toward New Paradigms

The Ahos accomplish a remarkable feat. Their writing is lively and engaging while their observations are deep and important. This is the most insightful study of today's experience of health matters I have yet seen.

Charles Guignon

James and Kevin Aho have written an important book.

March 2010 Metapsychology Online Reviews

James and Kevin Aho have written an important book.

March 2010 Metapsychology Online

This book should be especially welcomed by those working within medical humanities, though not so much by philosophers and others interested in phenomenology...It brings together, even if in a much simplified way, a set of intuitions originating mainly in Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology, neatly synthesizes and applies them to modern biomedicine with a critical intent. The outcome is comprehensive as far as the phenomenologically inspired divergent conceptualizations of pathological states of mind and body are concerned, and it is also often thought-provoking, well written and accessible to newcomers to the field.

The European Legacy – Toward New Paradigms