Physiotherapy, and biomedicine generally, owes a lot to René Descartes (for a refresher on an earlier post on the critical issue of Cartesian Dualism in PT, go here). But Descartes’ influence extends much further than just the body-as-machine, and has fundamentally shaped medicine and physiotherapy practice ethics for more than 100 years. 400 years ago, Descartes set out to discover what could be known beyond doubt. His method was to doubt everything, from the existence of physical objects around him, to dreams and ideas. What was left, he surmised, would be the basis upon which all knowledge could be built. The first thing Descartes believed he could trust was that he himself was … [Read more...] about Critique of the biomedical model #3 (or what it really means to be a person)
I and You
“Without this mind-set, which Buber called “I-It,” there would be no science, economics, or politics. But, the more we engage in such thinking, the farther we drift from “I-You,” his term for addressing other people directly as partners in dialogue and relationship. Only when we say “You” to the world do we perceive its miraculous strangeness and, at the same time, its potential for intimacy. Indeed, it’s not only human beings who deserve to be called “You.” As Buber wrote, even a cat or a piece of mica can summon up in us the feeling of a genuine encounter with another: “When something does emerge from among things, something living, and becomes a being for me . . . it is for me nothing but … [Read more...] about I and You
Other ways of looking at others
One of the biggest perks of my job - and there are many - is the opportunity to work with physiotherapists who are looking for new ways to think about their profession. These are some of the people who are offering insights into how physiotherapy might develop in the future, and one theme of some of this work that's emerged in recent years has been around the ethical care of others. What's most interesting for me about this work is how it's inverting the way we've traditionally thought about others, placing the ethics of care before our knowledge of them and their world. Ethics preceding ontology if you will. Here are three examples. Since the start of the year I've been … [Read more...] about Other ways of looking at others
30 Days of September: Day 15
Today's image was suggested by Bruce Greenfield. Click on the image to open it to full size. You can then save it and turn it into a desktop background by following these brief instructions. … [Read more...] about 30 Days of September: Day 15
30 Days of September: Day 13
Today's image was suggested by Viviana Silva. Click on the image to open it to full size. You can then save it and turn it into a desktop background by following these brief instructions. … [Read more...] about 30 Days of September: Day 13
All feedback is projection
I spend a lot of my time at the university these days working with psychologists and psychotherapists, and one of the things I am always struck by is how much of what they learn could be applied to other healthcare practices, especially professions like physiotherapy. The quote in the title; 'All feedback is projection', for example, was told to me by a psychotherapy colleague who was explaining how it is that people will give you feedback from their own perspective but, more often than not, what they're really doing is projecting their own values and beliefs and its not ever entirely about you. I've thought about that a lot when I've reflected on the advice I've been given by people … [Read more...] about All feedback is projection
Tobba Sudmann – Presentation of self in everyday life – 30DoS #5
In this post, Norwegian physiotherapy lecturer, researcher and hippotherapy practitioner Tobba Sudman talks about Erving Goffman's book Presentation of self in everyday life. Spanish translation provided by CPN Exec member Alma Viviana Silva. Presentation of self in everyday life (1959) was Goffman’s first of 11 books, detailing social interaction as a bridge over the actor-structure divide in social theory. Goffman’s key message is that social interaction is a moral and precarious endeavor, in which we all are embedded. Social interaction is communication with all kinds of signs and micro-behavior, designed for mutual impression management, interpretation and creation of working … [Read more...] about Tobba Sudmann – Presentation of self in everyday life – 30DoS #5