‘There Is a Crack in Everything’. Fragile Normality : Husserl’s Account of Normality Re-Visited

Abstract

There is a paradox that lies at the heart of every investigation of normality, namely, its dependence on its other (e.g., deviation, break, difference). In this paper, I want to show that this paradox is the reason for the dynamism as well as fragility of normality. In this regard, I will not only argue that every normality is fragile, but also that normality can only be established because it is fragile. In the first part of this paper, I will present and re-visit Husserl’s account of normality as concordant and optimal with regard to its dynamic or fragile aspects. In the second part of this paper, I will apply this account to recent findings in phenomenological pathology regarding schizophrenia and depression to show how Husserl’s account could be helpful for differentiating between different aspects (such as concordance and optimality) as well as genetic levels of (disturbances of) normality.

“An illness of isolation, a disease of disconnection”: Depression and the erosion of we-experiences

“…1 Over the last decade, there has been increased interest in how phenomenology can be used to analyze disturbances found in depression, including disturbances of temporality (e.g., Fuchs, 2013a;Ratcliffe, 2014;Maiese, 2018), personal identity (e.g., Svenaeus, 2013), bodily feelings (e.g., Fuchs and Schlimme, 2009;Fuchs, 2013a), and emotional experience (e.g., Slaby, 2014;Stephan et al, 2014). There has also been increased interest in phenomenological psychopathology in how depression involves impairments to one's social experiences (e.g., Fuchs, 2005, Fuchs, 2013aRatcliffe, 2014;Ratcliffe and Stephan, 2014;Wehrle, 2019;Osler, 2021). I follow this trend here and present a phenomenological assessment of the erosion of certain interpersonal relations in depression.…”

“…The breakdown or fracturing of social relations in depression has been highlighted in numerous phenomenological accounts (Fuchs, 2005(Fuchs, , 2013aRatcliffe, 2014;Ratcliffe and Stephan, 2014;Wehrle, 2019;Osler, 2021). Perhaps most prominently, Matthew Ratcliffe, in his book Experiences of Depression (2014), describes how feelings of isolation, estrangement, distance from the world and other people are common experiences in depression: "The person is cut off from the world and, most importantly, from habitual forms of interaction with other people" (Ratcliffe, 2014, 31).…”

Normaliteit of de stilte van de (lichamelijke) ervaring

“…Ik wil voorstellen om sociale normen (of statistiek die als sociale norm fungeert) en de ervaringsdimensie van normaliteit/abnormaliteit te scheiden. Met Husserl zouden we normaliteit dan als 'stilte' van de ervaring kunnen definiëren: als de ervaring eenstemmig en optimaal verloopt, overeenstemmend met wat we al hebben ervaren, en als de omgeving en onze acties/doelen optimaal op elkaar zijn afgestemd (Husserl 1952, 2008Steinbock 1998;Taipale 2014;Heinämaa & Taipale 2018;Wehrle 2010Wehrle , 2015Wehrle , 2019a. Abnormaliteit uit zich daarentegen als een gevoel van irritatie of verrast zijn.…”

The unconscious and the transcendental: Husserlian phenomenology in intersubjective systems theory

“…Normality is intersubjectively established through shared practices and experiences, since the different anticipations of consciousness are brought about by a shared world and thus by intersubjectively shared apperceptions ( Wehrle, 2018 , 56). Deviance of instersubjectively established normality occurs when the experience of a subject is not commensurable with social anticipations: a culture clash in the case of moving to another country is a good example ( Wehrle, 2018 , 56). One must adapt to the new circumstances in order to enter the shared domain of normality (again).…”

“…This is what Merleau-Ponty demonstrated in the Phenomenology of Perception : we need psychopathology in order to be able to define normality. At the same time, abnormality, as deviation, already points to normality as its ground, which is necessary for a future sense of normality ( Wehrle, 2018 , 56). Here, normality is viewed as dynamic and context-based.…”