Contexts of Suffering

Kevin Aho's "Contexts of Suffering" sheds light on problems suffered especially during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. His book is a powerful example of transdisciplinary work at its most effective, particularly when applied to urgent problems in contemporary life. This work goes beyond a merely academic work of scholarship. It is a convincing study of Heidegger, to be sure, but also a very personal study of illness in general, and gives a profound response to the over-emphasis on biomedical psychiatry. * Human Studies *
In brief, the book is a rewarding read but also challenging, for reasons that will become apparent to the reader. Very much in keeping with the author's admirable ability to render more complex Heideggerian ideas into clear and understandable language, I found the text at all times easy to absorb, illuminating those aspects of Heidegger's work that might seem intractable and even disorienting…. [H]is writing carries us along with admirable skill and understanding in a way that one can only come to expect of a Heidegger scholar of the first order. * Existential Analysis *
Contexts of Suffering is a superb addition to the philosophy of mental health, and specifically the nature of psychiatric problems. Heidegger, for many, is a guiding light in such approaches and Aho provides a masterful overview of how his work, and that of phenomenology and hermeneutics in general, can inform mental health practice and research and relates to the author’s own experiences. -- Matthew Broome, Director of the Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, UK
Aho has done us all a great service with this bold and immensely important work. Utilizing Heideggerian phenomenology and hermeneutics, he not only exposes the reductive, medicalizing, and indeed dangerous practices of American psychiatry today, but also envisions a healthier path forward wherein psychiatrists can treat the patient as a holistic and relational person by empathically entering the patient’s world. -- Casey Rentmeester, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Bellin College, USA
The reader will be shaken by the reporting and educated by the analyses in Contexts of Suffering. While the shortcomings of psychiatry are legion, Aho does not point fingers or wail sanctimoniously. Instead, he carefully examines and describes the many complicated dimensions of common psychiatric disorders. Aho is at his best when giving existential-phenomenological descriptions of experience—particularly suffering. -- Patrick M. Whitehead, Associate Professor of Psychology, Albany State University, USA
Aho draws on the existential-phenomenological tradition to dismantle the assumptions of a reductive biological psychiatry and explore how interweaving networks of social and personal meaning inform definitions of psychopathology. In so doing, he reconfigures those diagnosed with mental disorders as historically-situated, self-interpreting beings. This book is an excellent teaching tool for introductory courses in the philosophy of psychiatry. -- Duff R. Waring, Professor of Philosophy, York University, Canada
Kevin Aho draws on Heideggerian phenomenology and hermeneutics to critique the over-medicalization of mental suffering. With his careful attention to the socio-cultural constitution of illness, Aho enriches our understanding of both somatic illness and psychopathology. His book will be of interest not only to phenomenologists, but to anyone unsatisfied with psychiatry’s strictly biological approach to disorder. -- Anthony Vincent Fernandez, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Kent State University