Pathophobia, Vices, and the 'awfulness' of Illness

Pathophobia, Vices, and the 'awfulness' of Illness

This talk introduces the concept of pathophobia: a term to capture the variety of morally objectionable ways in which ill persons are talked and thought about and treated within the social world. Drawing on testimonies by chronically ill persons, I argue that there are five main clusters of pathophobic vices and failings typically evinced in the negative ways that ill persons are typically treated, with untruthfulness about the complexities and realities of illness being among the worst. I end the talk by sketching some ways the concept of pathophobia might be developed in a future program in the philosophy of illness.

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