Gilles Deleuze and the search for “sense” in the stories of illness: a methodological proposal

Abstract

Introduction: this article briefly summarises some of the concepts in the Logic of Sense, by Gilles Deleuze and proposes a method of structural analysis of a text of illness narrative.

Methods: the main concepts are the distinction of Things from the Events, the importance of the surface separating them, the concepts of problem and of paradoxical instance. A eight step process of textual analysis is proposed.

Results: A worked example clarifies the steps of the method and some suggestions for the educational use of this kind of textual analysis is provided.

Discussion: this is a useful approach when the focus is on analysing the social discourse and social structures that can be a source of oppression for some social groups, but also to increase the awareness about the way in which sense is produced in verbal production.