illness as metaphor
* Cancer, as a disease that can strike anywhere, is a disease of the body. Almost a decade later, with the outbreak of a new, stigmatized disease replete with mystifications and punitive metaphors, Sontag wrote a sequel to Illness as Metaphor, extending the argument of the earlier book to the AIDS pandemic.These two essays now published together, Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors, have been translated into many languages and continue to have an enormous influence on the thinking of medical professionals and, above all, on the lives of many thousands of patients and caregivers. The goal, according to my doctor, is to “shock” the immune system into submission. Home › AIDS as metaphor › Illness as Metaphor. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Illness as Metaphor is a 1978 work of critical theory by Susan Sontag, in which she challenged the victim-blaming in the language that is often used to describe diseases and the people affected by them.. My point is that illness is not a metaphor, and that the most truthful way of regarding illness—and the healthiest way of being ill—is one most purified of, most resistant to, metaphoric thinking. Turning from history to the present period, and from tuberculosis to the second of the two great scourges that figure in Illness as Metaphor, we note, as I have said, that most of the passages quoted on the psychological origins of cancer are taken from psychologists and medical men, while the metaphors of violence and vileness come from newspapers and the literature of anti-cancer campaigns. ", Sontag said that the clearest and most truthful way of thinking about diseases is without recourse to metaphor. She believed that wrapping disease in metaphors discouraged, silenced, and shamed patients. I think it is a very eye-opening book, but is so much more effective when this book/essays can be discussed, especially in an academic setting. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2013. [2] The most effective way of thinking about illness would be to avoid metaphorical thinking, and to focus on only the physical components and treatment.[3]. Her book is not about illness, but about the use of illness as a figure or metaphor. The book contrasts the view points and metaphors associated with each disease. Illness as Metaphor By Lou Agosta on March 31, 2020. Illness gathers together, activates, and occasions meaning making about life, death, morality, merit, transgression, finitude, and mortality. Siddhartha Mukherjee mentions her a lot in The Emperor of All Maladies, so I thought I'd give it a read. She is particularly concerned with the metaphorical sue of tuberculosis in the 19th century and cancer in the 20th. Sontag produces a fascinating meditation about the cultural and mythical effects of nineteenth century tuberculosis and its uglier sister, twentieth century cancer. "[11], Additionally, critics also brought up the argument that metaphoric thinking about diseases hasn't stopped research about diseases from taking place and that humans deal with the reality of their lives through the help of metaphors. Paper quality is really bad. Customers who bought this item also bought. Syphilis was thought to be not only a horrible dis- ease but a demeaning, vulgar one. But it isn’t simply a list of those concealments and distortions. In 1978 Susan Sontag wrote Illness as Metaphor, a classic work described by Newsweek as "one of the most liberating books of its time." Book itself is fine. [4] She does not mention her personal experience with cancer in the work, but she addresses it in her related 1988 work, AIDS and Its Metaphors. Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. Word Count: 1877. [2], Sontag then made the comparison between the metaphors used to describe tuberculosis and cancer, with cancer being seen in the 1970s as a disease that afflicted people who lacked passion and sensuality, and those who repressed their feelings. There was a problem loading your book clubs. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2004. Addiction is one that comes to mind. In the 19th century it was tuberculosis, and by 197… Previous … By undergoing the often blame-filled psychotherapy offered by some groups, such as the Simonton Center, the patient would overcome cancer by consciously choosing to give up the emotional benefits he or she created the cancer for, and be healed. She argues against the victim-blaming metaphors commonly used to describe diseases. As always, Sontag reads as brusque and provocative. At the time that Sontag was writing, the fad in alternative cancer treatment was psychotherapy for the patient's supposed "cancer personality". Illness as a metaphor for political disorder is one of the oldest notions of political philosophy. Illness as Metaphor is a nonfiction work written by Susan Sontag and published in 1978. In 1978 Susan Sontag wrote Illness as Metaphor, a classic work described by Newsweek as "one of the most liberating books of its time." The work was originally published in the New York Review of Books as three long-form essays. A word with extended use throughout its existence. Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors Quotes Showing 1-25 of 25 “A large part of the popularity and persuasiveness of psychology comes from its being a sublimated spiritualism: a secular, ostensibly scientific way of affirming the primacy of spirit over matter.” ― Susan Sontag, Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors However, lack of improvement from tuberculosis was usually seen as lack of passion in the individual. Most of these metaphors are lurid, and they turn each disease into a mythology. Catching up on my reading while “sheltering at home” in Chicago, Susan Sontag’s (1933 – 2004) book length essay, “Illness as Metaphor” (1977) is especially timely in view of the psychological dynamics around the Covid-19 pandemic. In 1978 Susan Sontag wrote Illness as Metaphor, a classic work described by Newsweek as "one of the most liberating books of its time." Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2016, Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2015, Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2016. A History of ‘Plague’: Illness as Metaphor. I had heard of Ms. Sontang over the years, but this is the first time I've ever read one of her works. The disease becomes adjectival. Susan_Sontag_Illness_As_Metaphor_1978.pdf (file size: 6.27 MB, MIME type: application/pdf) Susan Sontag, Illness as Metaphor, 1978. Passion moves inward, striking and blighting the deepest cellular recesses. Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2018. Illness as Metaphor, Chapter 7 Cancer is generally thought an inappropriate disease for a romantic character, in contrast to tuberculosis, perhaps because unromantic depression has supplanted the romantic notion of melancholy. What to Know. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. But she makes great points about how we, as society, stigmatize certain illnesses. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, $15.87 Shipping & Import Fees Deposit to France. Anti-democrats used it … Not being religious myself, I had no particular axe to grind, and was surprised by the vehemence of the hostility my remark gave rise to. Illness as Metaphor. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2018, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 19, 2014. A cancer patient herself when she was writing the book, Sontag shows how the metaphors and myths surrounding certain illnesses, especially cancer, add greatly to the suffering of patients and often inhibit them from seeking proper treatment. We would, according to Sontag, be better off with a medical model for these conditions, so that appropriate knowledge about them can be sought & cures secured. Paperback in English - 1 edition. Susan Sontag Illness as Metaphor. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Not long ago, I published a short article in which I mentioned that some of the best people I had ever known—the only ones who seemed to me genuinely to love humanity—were nuns working in Africa. She really knew how to write. Illness as Metaphor.” The treatment for my current flare began as expected, with a rapid-fire attempt to dominate the body with a high dosage of steroids and organ transplant drugs. Illness as metaphor by Susan Sontag, 1978, Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition, in English This is a quote from the book that I would consider its thesis statement: Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2019. The Undying: Pain, vulnerability, mortality, medicine, art, time, dreams, data, exhaustion, cancer, and care, Regarding the Pain of Others (Picador Modern Classics). Susan Sontag’s 1978 book Illness As Metaphor is an eighty-seven-page work of critical theory exploring the language we use to describe disease and its connotations.She argues against the victim-blaming metaphors commonly used to describe diseases. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. August 25, 2001, Picador. [7] Some of the more inflammatory language was slightly toned down for republication. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Published in 1978, Illness as Metaphoris a polemic against what she perceived as the current practice of using cultural metaphors to describe serious illness. In the 19th century, tuberculosis was considered a disease of passion, of "inward burning," of the "consumption" of life force. Her final argument was that metaphors are not useful for patients, since metaphors make patients feel as if their illness was due to their feelings, rather than lack of effective treatment. A cancer patient herself when she was writing the book, Sontag shows how the metaphors and myths surrounding certain illnesses, especially cancer, add greatly to the suffering of patients and often inhibit them from seeking proper treatment. Paperback. She wrote about the peculiar reversal that "With the modern diseases (once TB, now cancer), the romantic idea that the disease expresses the character is invariably extended to assert that the character causes the disease—because it has not expressed itself. Although the book was published in 1978, her observations remain incisive, instructive, even disturbing, four decades later. 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