Patient as the Other.

Abstract

Abstract The “Other” refers to that which is “absolutely other,” which, according to certain postmodern thinkers, signifies the radical difference and autonomy of our fellow humans. To approach the patient as the Other, then, is to accept him or her as someone who is ultimately inaccessible to my grasp, concealed from my truth, and withdrawn from my presence. Ethics of the Other poses manifold challenges to conventional patient care: a) it exposes the inherent violence against the Other, as is manifest in the pervasive rejection of absence/concealment, in psychiatric care; b) it demands consideration of alternative perspectives on absence/concealment; c) it demands a new paradigm of healing, a paradigm which focuses on care instead of cure, and which measures excellence in clinical practice in terms of humility and sensibility, instead of power and mastery.