Diagnosis and otherness – Emmanuel Lévinas’s thinking as an inspiration for contemporary psychiatric practice
Authors:
Jakub Luksch 1; Josef Fošum 2
Authors‘ workplace:
Katedra filosofie a religionistiky, Teologická fakulta Jihočeské univerzity v Českých Budějovicích
1; Spolek filosofických poradců, České Budějovice
2
Published in:
Čes. a slov. Psychiat., 122, 2026, No. 2, pp. 67-71.
Category:
Review
doi:
https://doi.org/10.48095/cccsp202605
Overview
The article focuses on linking Emmanuel Lévinas’ philosophy with contemporary psychiatric practice. Lévinas emphasizes ethics as the original foundation of human existence – a person becomes themselves only in relation to the Other, whose face resembles vulnerability and transcendent otherness. In psychiatry, there is a tension between the necessity of diagnosis (classifying individuals into a classification system) and respect for the uniqueness of the patient, which often leads to the risk of objectification and stigmatization. Lévinas’ thinking can be understood as a possible approach that emphasizes a counterbalance to this “totalization,” as it highlights responsibility and the primacy of the good of the Other. At the same time, his ideas provide a starting point for the prevention of burnout syndrome, as they return medical practice to its ethical core.
Keywords:
diagnosis – ethics – psychiatry – Emmanuel Lévinas – responsibility – other – otherness
Sources
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Labels
Addictology Paediatric psychiatry PsychiatryArticle was published in
Czech and Slovak Psychiatry
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