A Phenomenology of Functional Neurological Disorder

Functional neurological disorder (FND)—once associated with hysteria—remains one of the most enigmatic and contested conditions in contemporary medicine. Situated at the fraught intersection of neurology and psychiatry, it raises fundamental questions about the nature of illness, embodiment, and the limits of biomedical explanation.

In A Phenomenology of Functional Neurological Disorder, Kevin Aho offers the first sustained phenomenological account of FND. Drawing on thinkers such as Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Gadamer, and Jaspers, Aho examines how the disorder disrupts the structure of embodiment, unsettles self-perception, and transforms one’s sense of space and time. Integrating philosophical analysis with first-person narratives—including his own—he brings into view the often overlooked existential dimensions of a condition that is frequently misunderstood or dismissed.

Challenging the entrenched divide between mind and body in modern medicine, this book advances a new framework for understanding FND—one with important implications for philosophy of psychiatry, medical humanities, and clinical practice. By illuminating both what it means and what it feels like to live with the disorder, Aho deepens our theoretical understanding of illness while calling for more humane and responsive forms of care.

This timely and original work will be essential reading for scholars and students of phenomenology, philosophy of medicine, and psychiatry, as well as for clinicians seeking a richer understanding of patient experience.