Non-Normality as a Drive for Change An Overview of Systemic Processes

Titolo Rivista RIVISTA SPERIMENTALE DI FRENIATRIA
Autori/Curatori Primavera Fisogni
Anno di pubblicazione 2023 Fascicolo 2023/2
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 21 P. 77-97 Dimensione file 711 KB
DOI 10.3280/RSF2023-002006
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this paper moves from the multifaceted frame of ‘normality’ to inquiry how the processes of change work in case of perturbations. The aim is not simply to investigate the opaque region of the world of life that belongs to metamorphosis but to reflect on the possibility to move further obsolete paradigms about what is normal/abnormal/pathological. Through several forms of normalities that result from processes that follow shocking events (social emergencies, severe diagnoses and chronic diseases) the author will highlight the dynamic texture of normality and the transformative power of non-normality. Normality in case of perturbation results not from the limit of the norm, but from the constant effort to re-modulate it. Furthermore, it will be argued that new normalities originate from a process of renormalization, a dynamic which refers to a relation of scale. Deeply intertwined with change, the dy- namic texture of normality cannot be detected by the observer. For a valuable understanding of the opaque region of transformation, it ought to investigate through the lenses of systemic thinking. This approach brings into light two main phases, which are the breaking of a previous balance and the emer- gence of novel, unpredictable conditions. A special concern is addressed to post-traumatic creativity: it will be possible to assume that creativity can be recognized as the capacity to grasp and institute new relations. Finally, it will be questioned whether the term normality in the discourse about health can be substituted by another one, which can better fit the trans- formative power of non-normality and can put into brackets any moral as- sessment of the pathological/abnormal condition of the person. It will be con- cluded that it is not only possible, but also highly recommended in a frame where disease and health can be understood in relation to the harmonic inte- gration among parts and levels.

La normalità, in caso di perturbazioni, risulta non dai limiti della norma, bensì dallo sforzo costante di rimodularla. Inoltre, sarà argomentato che le nuove normalità si originano da un processo di rinormalizzazione, relativo alla relazione di scala. Profondamente intrecciata al cambiamento, la tessi- tura dinamica della normalità non può essere rilevata dall’osservatore. Per una valida comprensione della regione opaca delle metamorfosi, serve porsi nella prospettiva del pensiero sistemico, un approccio che porta alla luce due fasi principali: la rottura del precedente equilibrio e l’emergenza di nuove, imprevedibili condizioni. Una particolare attenzione è rivolta alla creatività post-traumatica, ri- conosciuta come la capacità di afferrare e istituire nuove relazioni. Infine, verrà discusso se il termine normalità, a proposito della salute, può essere sostituito da un altro, in grado di adattarsi meglio al potere trasformativo della non normalità e tale da mettere tra parentesi ogni valutazione morale circa la condizione patologica / a-normale della persona. In conclusione, si reputa che ciò non soltanto sia possibile, ma anche fortemente auspicato in una cornice in cui malattia e salute si possono interpretare come armonica integrazione di parti e livelli.

Keywords:normalità, normalizzazione, rinormalizzazione, cambia- mento, pensiero sistemico, emergenze, creatività

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Primavera Fisogni, Non-Normality as a Drive for Change An Overview of Systemic Processes in "RIVISTA SPERIMENTALE DI FRENIATRIA" 2/2023, pp 77-97, DOI: 10.3280/RSF2023-002006