September 2024
The way dissociative identity disorder is conceptualized is heavily shaped by cultural influences, creating a feedback loop between diagnosis and experience. Drawing on Ian Hacking’s concepts of looping kinds and dynamic nominalism, I explore how diagnostic labels do not merely describe experiences but actively shape them. The classification of DID as an “identity disorder” reinforces a framework where individuals perceive their dissociative experiences through the lens of multiple identities, further entrenching the label’s influence. Additionally, the cultural practice of personifying alters is not an inherent feature of dissociation but a learned framework shaped by media, clinical expectations, and community narratives. Recognizing these feedback loops allows for a more critical and flexible approach to understanding dissociative experiences beyond rigid diagnostic categories.
culture DID dynamic nominalism Hacking identity looping kinds philosophy
10 minutes
June 2024
DID is (mostly) a culture-bound disorder
DID is a culture-bound disorder, meaning cultural narratives heavily shape how it is understood and experienced. While the underlying dissociative phenomena are real, the “multiple people in one body” model is not inherent but a learned framework shaped by cultural expectations. How one conceptualizes their dissociation influences how it manifests, reinforcing a feedback loop. Given these strong cultural influences, the diagnostic criteria for DID should be reworked to remove bias and better reflect the underlying dissociative experiences.
conceptualization culture DID Hacking identity looping kinds
3 minutes