Doświadczanie ciała zrekonstruowanego protezą kończyny górnej – socjosomatyczne studium ciała biotechnologicznego
Experience of the Body Reconstructed with an Upper Extremity Prosthesis—Sociosomatic Study of the Biotechnological Body

Summary/Abstract: The paper has the form of a sociosomatic study of the body reconstructed with an upper limb prosthesis. Its empirical basis is a qualitative research carried out in a group of people with a unilateral or bilateral hand deficit (N=21), which in this purposefully selected sample has been technologically supplemented using either a functional (mechanical or myoelectric) or a cosmetic prosthesis. The empirical material has been gathered and analyzed in line with the assumptions and basic principles of the constructivist approach to grounded theory methodology according to Kathy Charmaz. The theoretical framework is based on phenomenology (Maurice Merleau-Ponty) and some trends in social constructivism (Michael Foucault, Erving Goffman, Arthur Frank). The main body of the paper contains analyses of empirical material focused on the issue of subjective experience of biotechnological body with regard to undertaken activities in the 1) functional, 2) aesthetic, 3) sensory, 4) interactive, 5) identity-related dimensions. The paper closes with conclusions concerning possible applications of the presented research in clinical medicine.

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