Trigg Dylan
Institut Für Philosophie (Room 1020), University of Vienna, Sensengasse 8, 1090 Wien, Austria.
Hum Stud. 2021;44(4):615-633. doi: 10.1007/s10746-021-09585-4. Epub 2021 May 27.
Phenomenologically grounded research on pregnancy is a thriving area of activity in feminist studies and related disciplines. But what has been largely omitted in this area of research is the experience of childbirth itself. This paper proposes a phenomenological analysis of childbirth inspired by the work of Merleau-Ponty. The paper proceeds from the conviction that the concept of anonymity can play a critical role in explicating the affective structure of childbirth. This is evident in at least two respects. First, the concept of anonymity gives structural specificity to the different levels of bodily existence at work in childbirth. Second, the concept of anonymity can play a powerful explanatory role in accounting for the sense of strangeness accompanying childbirth. To flesh these ideas out, I focus on two attributes of birth, sourced from first-person narratives of childbirth. The first aspect concerns the sense of leaving one's body behind during childbirth while the second aspect concerns the sense of strangeness accompanying the first encounter with the baby upon successful delivery. I take both of these aspects of childbirth seriously, treating them as being instructive not only of the uniqueness of childbirth but also revealing something important about bodily life more generally. Accordingly, the paper unfolds in three stages. First, I will critically explore the concept of anonymity in Merleau-Ponty; second, I will apply this concept to childbirth; finally, I will provide an outline of how childbirth sheds light on the broader nature of bodily life.
基于现象学的妊娠研究是女性主义研究及相关学科中一个蓬勃发展的领域。但在这一研究领域中，很大程度上被忽视的是分娩本身的体验。本文提出了一种受梅洛 - 庞蒂作品启发的分娩现象学分析。本文基于这样一种信念展开，即匿名性概念在阐释分娩的情感结构方面可以发挥关键作用。这至少在两个方面是明显的。首先，匿名性概念为分娩过程中身体存在的不同层面赋予了结构特异性。其次，匿名性概念在解释伴随分娩而来的陌生感方面可以发挥有力的解释作用。为了详细阐述这些观点，我聚焦于分娩的两个属性，它们源自分娩的第一人称叙述。第一个方面涉及分娩过程中抛开自己身体的感觉，而第二个方面涉及成功分娩后首次接触婴儿时伴随的陌生感。我认真对待分娩的这两个方面，认为它们不仅对分娩的独特性具有指导意义，而且更广泛地揭示了身体生命的重要内容。因此，本文分三个阶段展开。首先，我将批判性地探讨梅洛 - 庞蒂作品中的匿名性概念；其次，我将把这个概念应用于分娩；最后，我将概述分娩如何揭示身体生命的更广泛本质。
