Medicine and Paradigms of Embodiment

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Abstract
This paper suggests that the paradigm of the lived-body developed by Straus, Merleau-Ponty and others has important implications for medical practice and theory. Certain recognized flaws in modern medicine, such as its reductionist tendencies and lack of emphasis on preventive measures are shown to be related to the exclusive use of a Cartesian notion of embodiment. Increased attention to the paradigm of the lived-body emphasizing its unity, purposiveness and “enworldment” could help to beneficially reorient practice. Moreover, this portrayal of the body as an intentional entity may provide a better tool than the traditional view for conceptualizing the psychological and psychosocial components of disease etiology, as well as some newly developed modes of treatment.

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