The Clinic & The Person
The Clinic & The Person is a podcast bringing knowledge and perspectives from the humanities to certain aspects of biomedicine. “The Clinic” represents all that biomedicine brings to bear on diseases and treatments, and “The Person” represents all that people go through with health problems. Our episodes draw from works in the humanities—any genre—directly related to how people are affected by specific clinical events such as migraine headaches, epileptic seizures, and dementia, and by specific health care situations such as restricted access to care and gut-wrenching, life and death choices. We analyze and interpret featured works and provide thoughts on their applications in patient care; health professions education; clinical and population research; health care policy; and social and cultural trends and preoccupations. Often joining us are the creators of works we feature or experts on the topics we select.
The Clinic & The Person
“I’m Filled with Desire”: Eros & Illness with David B. Morris
People can have certain desires stemming from their illnesses, for the arts, health, companionship, serenity, and meaning among other possibilities. The scholar, writer, and teacher David B. Morris considers these desires a form of eros that should be taken into account as a part of what people go through with their illnesses and what could potentially help them. We speak with David Morris about the relationship between eros and illness, and evaluate it using examples from art, literature, and theater. We muse about possible applications.
Primary Source Citation
Morris D. Eros and Illness. Cambridge MA; Harvard University Press, 2017
Links
Russell Teagarden’s relevant blog pieces:
- David Morris’ book, Eros and Illness
- Anatole Broyard’s book, Intoxicated by My Illness
- The play, Farinelli and the King
- Montaigne’s essays about his kidney stones
Modigliani’s reclining nude series:
- Reclining Nude, 1917
- Reclining Nude (Nu Couché) 1917–1918
- Reclining Nude (Le Grand Nu) 1919
- Nude on a Blue Cushion 1917
David Morris’ CV
Thanks to David Morris for coming on this episode and providing his thinking on the role of eros in illness.
Please send us comments, recommendations, and questions to this text link, or email to: russell.teagarden@theclinicandtheperson.com.
Thanks for listening, and please subscribe to The Clinic & The Person wherever you get your podcasts, or visit our website.
Executive producer: Anne Bentley
