ABSTRACT
Despite the apparent tension between the embodied subject and the written subject of post-structuralism, sick bodies populate a large number of autobiographical texts pertaining to this style of thought. In the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, the appearance of the sick body marks a site in which the distinction between philosophy and literature becomes problematic. In Jean-Luc Nancy’s text about his heart transplant, autopathography negotiates a number of philosophical problems. Finally, in the work of Avital Ronell, sick bodies are introduced to upset academic conventions and undermine authorial authority.
