Paper Short Abstract:

Functional disorders offer a compelling lens for exploring therapeutic polarization, exposing tensions in agency, responsibility, and the limits of medical knowledge. This paper presents an ongoing ethnographic study of the contemporary onto-politics shaping these contested conditions.

Paper Abstract:

This paper examines therapeutic polarization through an ethnographic study of the contemporary onto-politics of functional disorders. These conditions—encompassing fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and hypersensitivity—feature physical symptoms without clear organic or psychiatric causes. Characterized by complex biopsychosocial interactions and underlying nervous system dysregulation, functional disorders are resistant to simplistic explanations, posing an intriguing challenge for an ontologically nonreductive (Latour 1991) ethnography.

In a time of deepening divisions around health, science, and personal responsibility, these disorders may both mirror and fuel societal tensions and cultural anxieties—whether through the contested nature of their diagnosis, the polarized attitudes toward their treatment, or the cultural narratives that surround them. These dynamics are particularly evident in the psychosocial model for treating functional disorders, which I investigate not just as a clinical framework but as a space of negotiation where patients, professionals, and institutions grapple with the moral, epistemological, and political stakes of these conditions. The concept of therapeutic polarization captures the ideological and ethical conflicts that arise as diverse interpretations of health and illness collide.

Based on a project in its early stages, this paper draws from engagements with diverse stakeholders—patients, activists, healthcare professionals, scientists, policymakers, and journalists. By examining how functional disorders are co-produced across biomedical and sociocultural contexts, this research sheds light on how therapeutic polarization shapes contemporary perceptions of health, well-being, and moral accountability.