Morbid Symptoms: Power and Medicine During Transitional Eras

Abstract

Abstract Beginning with a genealogical gloss of the decline of Ayurvedic system in South Asian history, this essay moves to an alternative vision of the futures of health. It argues for a wholistic health model that includes global health cooperatives and integrates spirit with science. It uses Sarkar's theory of microvita as a conceptual framework to take placebo and nocebo seriously. While we imagine a rosy future, we are clear that the transition, as we are in now, will be associated with morbid symptoms and systems.