A phenomenology of fear: Merleau-Ponty and agoraphobic life-worlds - This paper is dedicated to Jim Davidson, 1965-2000

Journal/Book: Sociol Health Ill. 2000; 22: 108 Cowley Rd, Oxford Ox4 1Jf, Oxon, England. Blackwell Publ Ltd. 640-660.

Abstract: This payer explores the nature of agoraphobic sufferers' fears of social spaces drawing on Merleau-Ponty's dual conceptions of 'lived' and 'objective' space. Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological approach highlights both the mediating role of sensations in acquiring a sense of identity and the importance of recognising the social (as opposed to the merely individual) construction of lived space. I argue that an approach capable of theorising agoraphobic 'being-in-the-world' requires just such recognition of the effect that other people have on the space that they occupy. The potential relevance of this approach for sufferers from agoraphobia is explored through a case study.

Note: Article Davidson J, Univ Edinburgh, Dept Geog, Drummond St, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, Midlothian, SCOTLAND

Keyword(s): agoraphobia; Merleau-Ponty; body-boundaries; lived space; self-identity; GEOGRAPHY; WOMEN

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