Injury, Illness, and the Phenomenology of Loss: A Dialogue

TY - JOUR

T1 - Injury, Illness, and the Phenomenology of Loss

T2 - A Dialogue

AU - Cole, Jonathan

AU - Ratcliffe, Matthew James

N1 - This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details

PY - 2022/9/30

Y1 - 2022/9/30

N2 - This paper explores similarities and differences between grief over the death of a person and other experiences of loss that are sometimes termed “grief”, focusing on the impact of serious illness and bodily injury. It takes the form of a dialogue between a physician/neurophysiologist and a philosopher. Adopting a broad conception of grief, we suggest that experiences of lost or unrealised possibilities are central to all forms of grief. However, these unfold in different ways over prolonged periods. Experiences of grief are complex, diverse, difficult to articulate, and frequently under-acknowledged. This diversity, we note, complicates discussions of how to distinguish typical from pathological forms of grief. We raise the concern that thinking of grief through the lens of bereavement eclipses other circumstances in which people are required to comprehend and adapt to loss. With this lack of acknowledgement, the phenomenology of grief is characterized in ways that are overly tidy and people are deprived of important interpretive resources.

AB - This paper explores similarities and differences between grief over the death of a person and other experiences of loss that are sometimes termed “grief”, focusing on the impact of serious illness and bodily injury. It takes the form of a dialogue between a physician/neurophysiologist and a philosopher. Adopting a broad conception of grief, we suggest that experiences of lost or unrealised possibilities are central to all forms of grief. However, these unfold in different ways over prolonged periods. Experiences of grief are complex, diverse, difficult to articulate, and frequently under-acknowledged. This diversity, we note, complicates discussions of how to distinguish typical from pathological forms of grief. We raise the concern that thinking of grief through the lens of bereavement eclipses other circumstances in which people are required to comprehend and adapt to loss. With this lack of acknowledgement, the phenomenology of grief is characterized in ways that are overly tidy and people are deprived of important interpretive resources.

U2 - 10.53765/20512201.29.9.150

DO - 10.53765/20512201.29.9.150

M3 - Article

SN - 1355-8250

VL - 29

SP - 150

EP - 174

JO - Journal of Consciousness Studies

JF - Journal of Consciousness Studies

IS - 9-10

ER -