Enactive and simondonian reflections on mental disorders

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Philosophy of Mind
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Traditional views of mental disorders are often linear and unidimensional.
• The enactive approach, part of 4-E cognitive theories, provides an integrative framework.
• Embodiment involves organic, sensorimotor, and intersubjective dimensions crucial for mental health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply the enactive approach to understand mental disorders and symptomatic behavior.
• To utilize Gilbert Simondon's philosophy of individuation (tension, metastability, preindividual) as conceptual tools.
• To explore 'sense-making' as a key enactive concept for analyzing psychopathology.

Main Methods:

• Drawing on enactive cognitive science and Simondon's philosophy.
• Analyzing sense-making through five aspects: temporality, adaptivity, normativity, tension, and participation.
• Interpreting mental disorders and symptoms through the lens of individuation processes.

Main Results:

• Mental disorders and symptoms can be understood as disruptions in tension transformation and individuation.
• Difficulties in these processes reduce the capacity for self-individuation and sense-making.
• The enactive framework highlights the dynamic, interactive, and multi-dimensional nature of embodiment in psychopathology.

Conclusions:

• The enactive approach offers a richer, systemic understanding of mental disorders beyond organic or psychological dichotomies.
• Sense-making difficulties, rooted in individuation challenges, are central to psychopathological symptoms.
• This framework has implications for therapeutic interventions focusing on restoring adaptive sense-making and individuation.