Enactive and simondonian reflections on mental disorders.
Front Psychol August 3, 2022 Enara García, Iñigo R. Arandia 18 citations
The enactive approach, a branch of 4-E cognitive theories, offers an integrative framework for studying mental disorders by encompassing organic, sensorimotor, and intersubjective dimensions of embodiment. Drawing on Gilbert Simondon's philosophy of individuation, the article provides conceptual tools to understand the dynamic, interactive nature of human bodies in mental disorders. It analyzes five aspects of sense-making—temporality, adaptivity, multiplicity of normativities, the role of tension, and participatory character. The authors suggest that mental disorders and symptoms involve difficulties in transforming tensions and performing individuation processes, reducing the field of potentialities for self-individuation and sense-making.