MINDING ILLNESS

Toward A Philosophy of Health

Authors

  • Raheema Thasneem PhD Research Scholar, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli.
  • Vinod Balakrishnan Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli.

Keywords:

Phenomenology of illness, Wellness, Healing, Embodiment, Mind, Father Philipose Mar Chrysostom, Clinical and non-clinical approach towards illness, Edmund Pellegrino

Abstract

This paper revisits the phenomenology of illness by analyzing competing philosophies of health that are deeply rooted in human experience. The non-clinical approach of the paper de-essentializes the experience of illness to construct a positive philosophy of life. It juxtaposes two opposing perspectives on illness: one, Edmund Pellegrino’s, in which the body is the centre of all experiences, and the other is the alternative philosophical position of Philipose Mar Chrysostom, which moves beyond mere wellness of the human body to propose an alternative bioethical position which emphasizes the role of the mind in the act of healing.

Author Biographies

Raheema Thasneem, PhD Research Scholar, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli.

Raheema Thasneem O, a Research Scholar in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, works on Health Humanities with a special focus on the philosophy of illness.

Vinod Balakrishnan, Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli.

Vinod Balakrishnan is a professor in the same Department, teaching Creative Writing and Communication. A motivational speaker, practicing poet and yoga enthusiast, he reads on Life Writing, Nation, Indian Writing in English and Cultural Representation.

 

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Published

2022-03-31

How to Cite

Thasneem, R., & Balakrishnan, V. . (2022). MINDING ILLNESS: Toward A Philosophy of Health. Journal of Dharma, 47(1), 91–108. Retrieved from https://dvkjournals.in/index.php/jd/article/view/3736

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