Peripheral Minds: A Phenomenological Analysis of Dyslexia

Voiceover

Presenter(s)

John Henry Reilly

Abstract or Description

This presentation endeavors to provide a novel way of understanding Dyslexia through the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl. Dyslexia is currently defined as a neurodevelopmental disorder. It is “a specific and persistent learning disability affecting the acquisition and development of the written language code (reading and spelling) and causing significant handicap to academic achievement and/or activities of daily life” (HCN, 2013). This medicalized definition has several conceptual problems and does not commensurate with the lived experience of Dyslexic people.

         In philosophical terms, Dyslexia is defined by negation—it is defined through what it is not. This presentation utilizes Husserlian phenomenology to work toward an affirmative definition—a definition of what Dyslexia is. Husserlian phenomenology helps illuminate a collection of attributes of Dyslexia and enables us to conceptualize it as something more than a disability which must be fixed and remediated.

         Lanei Rodemeyer’s work explicates Husserl’s analysis of embodiment on 5 distinct but interconnected levels: Hyletic Flow, Passive Synthesis, Active Synthesis, Intersubjectivity 1, and Intersubjectivity 2. This presentation analyzes Dyslexia at the first 3 levels of embodiment, beginning at the level of Hyletic flow. Eight major studies have demonstrated that Dyslexics possess a “peripheral bias,” i.e. they experience stronger peripheral vision and weaker focal vision compared to controls. All relevant studies indicate that all Dyslexics invariantly experience this. With a “peripheral bias,” a Dyslexic experiences raw sense data differently than a neurotypical person—comparable to experiencing the world through an ultra-wide-angle lens rather than a telephoto lens. This leads to differences on the level of Passive Syntheses, namely a comparative difference in orthoaesthetic, motivated sensations, associations, and affectivity. Yet while comparative differences exist between a neurotypical and Dyslexic person, both will encounter their respective experiences as their own “normal.” On the level of Active Synthesis, Dyslexics can consequently conduct categorial syntheses through the faculty of Phantasy, i.e. Dyslexics can think visually rather than linguistically, a phenomenon widely reported by Dyslexics.

         In conclusion, Dyslexia does not need to be understood solely through the medical lens of pathologization. Phenomenological analysis elucidates how Dyslexia can be conceptualized and defined affirmatively and delineates what such traits may be. 

Mentor

Dr. Lanei Rodemeyer