Upcoming talk: "On the Violence of Psychologisation of Postviral Illness: A Habermasian Solution"? - Work in Progress, RCPS, Radboud University, 23 September 12.00-13.30

I am very excited hold a Work in Progress talk at the Radboud Center for Philosophy and Society of the Radboud University on the topic of the violence of psychologisation of postviral and postinfectious illnesses. The talk is publicly accessible, but it should be noted that it is based on a work in progress rather than a fully finished talk (Teams meeting code: Meeting ID: 316 643 611 292 6, Passcode: F3pg669d).

The abstract of this talk is as follows:

Most social and political philosophers and ethicists are aware of the dangers of medicalization. However, what remains undertheorized is how the supposedly emancipatory critique of medicalization, through the BioPsychoSocial (BPS) model, can give rise to its opposite: the harm pf Psychologisation. Psychologisation entails the “overspill of the psychological in discourse to non-psychological areas" (de Vos, 2012) – or, in the case of illness “the overemphasis or exaggeration of the role of psychological factors into illness" (ME-pedia, nd). In the case of postviral and postinfectious illneses such as Long Covid and MECFS, psychologisation not only leads to epistemic injustice, but also notoriously resulted in serious bodily deterioration of a patients (and in a few cases even death). In this talk I will hence first explain 1) what the BPS model is, then 2) what the scientific and epistemological problems of that model are, 3) why it is ethically problematic in the context of postviral and postinfectious illnesses and 4) lastly how, I think a postviral ethics, rooted in a Habermasian discursive ethical approach, might provide a way out of this dilemma.

Some extra notes: What I am mostly interested in, is testing amonst my colleagues whether a Habermasian ethical approach could provide a way out of the violence of Psychologisation - or whether it will not. I am particularly looking forward to exploring this question with them, and to delve philosophically deeper into these dilemmas. I truly love my department and my colleagues and therefore really embrace this opportunity.