Rethinking Health and Illness in Heidegger
Research Article
Open Access
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Rethinking Health and Illness in Heidegger

Yiwen Zhou 1*
1 Fudan University
*Corresponding author: 22300160075@m.fudan.edu.cn
Published on 5 November 2025
Volume Cover
CHR Vol.95
ISSN (Print): 2753-7072
ISSN (Online): 2753-7064
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-509-7
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-510-3
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Abstract

The contemporary philosophical interpretations of disease and illness can be classified into two dominant camps: naturalism and normativism. Influential as they are, both approaches overlook the lived, first-person experience of being ill. Against this backdrop, this paper develops a phenomenological account of health and illness grounded in Heidegger’s existential philosophy in an attempt to overcome the “inhuman” defect of the two mainstream approaches. Drawing on Heidegger’s philosophy, the paper interprets illness as an unhomely mode of existence in which the body ceases to be a transparent medium of engagement and becomes an obstacle to one’s projects. This account offers a richer understanding of human vulnerability and suggests a more patient-centered orientation for clinical practice. Yet the Heideggerian framework faces limits. It offers no clear threshold for illness and neglects the social, cultural, and normative dimensions of illness. This paper concludes that a comprehensive understanding of health and illness requires integrating phenomenological insight with empirical and ethical reflection in order to combine ontology and clinical care.

Keywords:

Heidegger, Illness, Dasein, Homelike, Philosophy of medicine

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Zhou,Y. (2025). Rethinking Health and Illness in Heidegger. Communications in Humanities Research,95,35-40.

References

[1]. Brencio, F. (2021) From Fixing to Thinking: Martin Heidegger’s Contribution to Medical Cares. In Di Martino, C. (ed.) Heidegger and Contemporary Philosophy: Technology, Living, Society & Science. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 149-168.

[2]. Jelscha, S. (2018) Disordered Existentiality: Mental Illness and Heidegger’s Philosophy of Dasein. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 17(3), 485-502.

[3]. Sartre, J. P. (2021) Being and Nothingness. New York: Atria Books.

[4]. Carel, H. (2021) Pathology as A Phenomenological Tool. Continental Philosophy Review, 54(2), 201-217.

[5]. Heidegger, M. (2007) Being and Time. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

[6]. Kawtar, Z. (2023) Some Medical Aspects in the Martin Heidegger’s Philosophy. Current Issues of Modern Medicine and Pharmacy-2023, May 25-26, Zaporizhzhia.

[7]. Svenaeus, F. (2011) Illness as Unhomelike Being-in-the-World: Heidegger and the Phenomenology of Medicine. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 2011, 14(3): 333-343.

[8]. Svenaeus, F. (2019) A Defense of the Phenomenological Account of Health and Illness. The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy: A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine, 44(4), 459-478.

[9]. Boroomand, K. and Mosleh, A. (2019) Heidegger and the Question Concerning Human Illness: A Daseinsanalytic Perspective. Journal of Philosophical Investigations, 12(25), 43-60.

[10]. Whitehead, P. (2021) Applying Heidegger to Case Study Research in the Medical and Social Sciences. The Qualitative Report, 26(10), 3014-3028.

References

[1]. Brencio, F. (2021) From Fixing to Thinking: Martin Heidegger’s Contribution to Medical Cares. In Di Martino, C. (ed.) Heidegger and Contemporary Philosophy: Technology, Living, Society & Science. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 149-168.

[2]. Jelscha, S. (2018) Disordered Existentiality: Mental Illness and Heidegger’s Philosophy of Dasein. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 17(3), 485-502.

[3]. Sartre, J. P. (2021) Being and Nothingness. New York: Atria Books.

[4]. Carel, H. (2021) Pathology as A Phenomenological Tool. Continental Philosophy Review, 54(2), 201-217.

[5]. Heidegger, M. (2007) Being and Time. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

[6]. Kawtar, Z. (2023) Some Medical Aspects in the Martin Heidegger’s Philosophy. Current Issues of Modern Medicine and Pharmacy-2023, May 25-26, Zaporizhzhia.

[7]. Svenaeus, F. (2011) Illness as Unhomelike Being-in-the-World: Heidegger and the Phenomenology of Medicine. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 2011, 14(3): 333-343.

[8]. Svenaeus, F. (2019) A Defense of the Phenomenological Account of Health and Illness. The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy: A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine, 44(4), 459-478.

[9]. Boroomand, K. and Mosleh, A. (2019) Heidegger and the Question Concerning Human Illness: A Daseinsanalytic Perspective. Journal of Philosophical Investigations, 12(25), 43-60.

[10]. Whitehead, P. (2021) Applying Heidegger to Case Study Research in the Medical and Social Sciences. The Qualitative Report, 26(10), 3014-3028.

Cite this article

Zhou,Y. (2025). Rethinking Health and Illness in Heidegger. Communications in Humanities Research,95,35-40.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceeding of ICIHCS 2025 Symposium: The Dialogue Between Tradition and Innovation in Language Learning

ISBN: 978-1-80590-509-7(Print) / 978-1-80590-510-3(Online)
Editor: Enrique Mallen, Heidi Gregory-Mina
Conference website: https://2025.icihcs.org/
Conference date: 17 November 2025
Series: Communications in Humanities Research
Volume number: Vol.95
ISSN: 2753-7064(Print) / 2753-7072(Online)

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