The research of the PhD-project focuses on autoimmunity (i. e. an activity of the immune system that is directed towards the body’s own tissue cells) as an existential condition. It aims at finding new meanings of this medical mystery and its implications.The research process follows Helmuth Plessner’s biophilosophical method, assuming the importance of personal experience, especially the experience of pain, for achieving a „seeing understanding“. Consequently, the work is shaped by the personal involvement with an autoimmune disease and a diversity of perspectives, resulting from the combination of philosophical, medical, cultural and literary positions.The research results are presented in the form of poems and poetical interpretations that challenge the traditional images of immunological activity, thereby providing the basis for a new understanding of autoimmunity and of autoimmune diseases.

Dissertation: Link to PHAIDRA