The Theological Basis of Medicine
‘I swear by Apollo the healer, by Aesculapius, by Health 1 and all the powers of healing, and call to witness all the gods and goddesses that I may keep this Oath and Promise to the best of my ability and judgment.’ These words form the opening sentence of the Hippocratic Oath and they bear eloquent...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
1955
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| In: |
Scottish journal of theology
Year: 1955, Volume: 8, Issue: 2, Pages: 142-154 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | ‘I swear by Apollo the healer, by Aesculapius, by Health 1 and all the powers of healing, and call to witness all the gods and goddesses that I may keep this Oath and Promise to the best of my ability and judgment.’ These words form the opening sentence of the Hippocratic Oath and they bear eloquent testimony to the theological basis of medicine in Ancient Greece. This close association of theology and medicine characterised the thought and practice of all peoples until the Renaissance, and it still appears most natural to the inhabitants of Africa and Asia who have not been influenced by Western thought. But with Western thought the Renaissance marked the dividing point between theology and medicine so that today medicine is suspicious of theology and jealously resists any approach from the side of theology. The result is that medicine has come more and more to deal with concrete situations and particular problems, and the doctor by his training is unfitted to discuss general principles for he is given no guidance during his training since, in most cases, his teachers have little guidance to give. |
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| ISSN: | 1475-3065 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Scottish journal of theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0036930600058476 |