The Meaning of Illness

S. Kay Toombs

Provides a phenomenological account of the experience of illness and the manner in which meaning is constituted by the patient and the physician. Rather than representing a shared reality between doctor and patient, illness represents two quite distinct realities - the meaning of one being significantly and qualitatively different from the meaning of the other. Drawing upon insights derived from psychological phenomenology, the author explores this difference and provides a detailed account of the way in which illness and body are apprehended differently by doctor and patient.

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