Oliver Sacks--a neurologist explores the lifeworld.
The neurologist Oliver Sacks has become very famous for his writings. His popularity has scattered all mass medias. In his books, he eloquently tells stories about patients suffering from extraordinary neurological diseases. Since the conceptual framework of Sacks' narratives has been widely unconsidered, this article pursues a more general and systematic approach to his work. Sacks terms his idiographic and phenomenological access to the world of science Romantical Science. With its features, he develops a concept of a Neurology of Identity, that is basically concerned with the patient's personality and subjectivity. Sacks' personal approach to medicine implies another understanding of diseases: For him, diseases cannot be reduced to pathological facts, they constitute other worlds. He characteristically uses philosophical, psychological and mythical terms for interpretation and narration. But conversely to its sympathetic appearance, Sacks' approach entails some deficits: His presentation is not always realistic, his interpretations are often one-sided. The theoretical reflections on his method and attitude remain poor. Nevertheless, he puts medicine back into lifeworld, to open it for many discourse universes beyond science in practice and theoretical reflection.
Mergenthaler
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University of Münster, Germany, Department for Theory and History of Medicine, 48149, Münster, Germany. imping@uni-muenster.de
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D009484:Neuropsychology; D012649:Self Concept