The Depression Questions: A Feminist Inquiry

Abstract

As psychological inquiry increasingly utilizes the medium of the scientific, the importance of the personal narrative is diminished. Disembodied, "objective" research studies are weighted heavier than first person accounts. Research is fixated upon fixing--but what if depression is not what needs fixing? What if depression will always be beyond the reach of knowing as a manifestation of the inherent unknown? What would be the implications for how psychology conceptualizes depression? For the experience of depression? This work is most directly inspired by French psychoanalyst Luce Irigaray (1930-present) and her discussions of the feminine. What is the feminine? I play with this question to show how there is no clear singular answer. Therefore, I do not intend to argue my points, but to embark upon a philosophical journey with my reader. My hope is that we will arrive at a different place each time.