In the 1970s, contradictory advice about cancer prevention—ranging from malnutrition to overeating—revealed the hazards of relying on metaphorical language in the medical realm. Even today, this issue remains unresolved, as Susan Sontag points out. Medical professionals aren’t the only ones using metaphors that shape the experiences of cancer patients; society at large is implicated too.
Sontag coins the term “kingdom of the sick,” and I find it compelling. This metaphor serves as a societal lens through which the “well” distance themselves from the “sick,” as if they’re part of two separate, incompatible realms. If you’re diagnosed with an illness, you’re suddenly transferred to this other “kingdom,” as if stricken from the record of the well. You become “the other.”
The problem doesn’t just lie with medical advice from decades past. The issue has a social dimension that feeds into how patients are perceived and treated today. When you are labeled as part of the “kingdom of the sick,” you’re essentially marginalized, stripped of your former identity and cordoned off into a different societal group.
While metaphors can sometimes make complex subjects more accessible, they can be equally misleading and damaging when applied inappropriately. This “kingdom” metaphor serves as a cautionary tale, making us question the terminology we unconsciously adopt and its long-term effects. Because words matter. Metaphors matter. They shape our experiences and treatment, not just of illnesses but of the people who suffer from them.
Therefore, it’s crucial to critically evaluate our language, recognizing that it has the power to either include or marginalize, to enlighten or mislead.
Read more at: Episode #178 - Transcript — Philosophize This!
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