Author, as appears in the article.: Riccò I

Department: Antropologia, Filosofia i Treball Social

URV's Author/s: Riccò, Isabella

Keywords: Reiki New age Hegemony Folk medicine Crisis of presence Cam reiki new age folk medicine crisis of presence cam

Abstract: © 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) and New Age therapies (NAt) are increasingly widespread in the West. Although the variety of therapies they recommend is very extensive, as is the variety of beliefs and practices, there are common ideas shared across both such as the concept of holism and the notion of energy. The case studies examined in this paper, Vittorio and Sol, both suffered from severe personal problems that caused a state of general malaise. They managed to address them through the holistic world. Through their experiences, it is possible to highlight the contradictions of CAM-NAt in the West. While, on one hand, these represent a form of resistance to capitalist culture, on the other there is a risk that CAM-NAt could end up reinforcing capitalistic logic through the establishment of an ‘individualistic holism’. The only solution to this situation seems to be a focus on the exercise of personal critical faculties, and an openness to different ways of conceiving the body, the health and diseases, but without, however, being drawn into the moralistic and individualist view that sometimes accompanies these.

Thematic Areas: Sociologia i política Social sciences, biomedical Public, environmental & occupational health Public health, environmental and occupational health Medicine (miscellaneous) Ciencias sociales Ciencias humanas Arts and humanities (miscellaneous) Antropología Anthropology

ISSN: 14692910

Author's mail: isabella.ricco@urv.cat isabella.ricco@urv.cat

Author identifier: 0000-0002-3612-430X 0000-0002-3612-430X

Record's date: 2023-02-19

Papper version: info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Link to the original source: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13648470.2018.1544605

Licence document URL: http://repositori.urv.cat/ca/proteccio-de-dades/

Papper original source: Anthropology & Medicine. 27 (1): 96-109

APA: Riccò I (2020). Searching for a ‘new magical world’: the contradictions of CAM and new age therapies in the West. Anthropology & Medicine, 27(1), 96-109. DOI: 10.1080/13648470.2018.1544605

Article's DOI: 10.1080/13648470.2018.1544605

Entity: Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Journal publication year: 2020

Publication Type: Journal Publications