Have your Cake and Eat it too: Technological Mediation of Ambivalence in Eating Disorders

Abstract Ambivalence is a state in which a subject simultaneously holds two contradictory statements as true. It is commonly experienced in eating disorders and can become an obstacle to recovery. Early recognition and behavioral changes are crucial for recovery. However, making lasting changes is easier said than done, and ambivalence can intensify these challenges. That is why it is crucial to explore and develop new perspectives on how ambivalence could support the recovery from eating disorders. While there is a substantial body of research on ambivalence in the context of eating disorders, it lacks a philosophical approach that could complement existing frameworks by analyzing how interactions with artifacts constitute ambivalence and facilitate recovery. In this paper I will employ postphenomenology to investigate how ambivalence, as a technologically mediated phenomenon, opens a possibility for recovery.