Body Matter Analysis

The human body is a well-oiled machine that serves as a capsule throughout its first and last breath. When this synergy of organs, bones and muscles is presented with an ailment, this system falls short of the masterpiece it is thought to be and affects not only the patient, but also others around them. Regardless of the ailment at hand, the effects or analysis of the ailment can be seen through three different lenses: illness seen from oneself, disease seen by physicians and medical professionals and sickness seen through society at large. In their book Body Matter, James and Kevin Aho describe bodily afflictions as seen from the perspective of these three audiences. As a means to further describe ailments through phenomenology, heart disease
In the words of the Ahos, “’Illness,’ on the other hand, we take to mean a kind of nonquantifiable lived experience, not feeling well or not being considered well by those certified to issue pronouncements about the body: physicians, licensed psychologists, and so on” (p. 3). The trouble breathing while walking up and down flights of stairs, the constant breaks needed to walk short distances and the unsurmountable feeling of weakness are only some of the symptoms that patients suffering from heart disease face. Many of these troubles that patients experience also presents a strain on their relationships with others. A father who physically cannot toss a baseball with his son or a mother who cannot keep up with her teenage daughter inside a mall complex are both small examples addressing how these self-limitations inadvertently effect those around people with cardiovascular disease. This first-person experience is also addressed by the Ahos through Martin Heidegger’s explanation of the body’s disappearance and appearance. Heidegger explains that when a person realizes what they have lost, that is when they have found the overall function of the organ or
Here, physicians view body troubles from the objective viewpoint of disease or deviance from normality. These abnormalities can be cured, treated or prevented through the deontological duty of the physician. A key aspect in the Ahos explanation of disease in the physician’s eyes is that medical professionals are now inclined to associate a patients symptoms as well as signs that physicians discover, to create a regiment for the patient with heart disease. As previously stated, the dense buildup of plaque, a key component in the development of heart conditions, comes with numerous symptoms that the patient endures. Physicians state that this abnormal congestion of arteries often leads patients prone to high blood pressure and diabetes (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion). The latter of the two serves of great interest to medical professionals because diabetes and heart disease were found to correlate greatly in many previous studies and causes of diabetes may be inextricably linked to cardiovascular disease as well (Resnick & Howard, 2002). In an attempt to prevent or delay onset of diabetic symptoms and further reduce the effects of cardiovascular disease, most physicians recommend a low fat diet, steady exercise and regular