Ancient Medicine and the body’s perception in Hippocrates (c. 460-370 BC)
Hélio Angotti Neto
Original title: A Medicina Antiga e a percepção do corpo em Hipócrates (c. 460-370 a. C.)
Published in Rhythms, expressions and representations of the body
Keywords: Galen, Hippocrates, History of Medicine, Human Body, Nature of Man.
Hippocratic medicine addresses the human body and its phenomena based on principles like the complexity and the balance of its components among themselves and its relations towards the nature. By means of logical formulations based on the composition of the human body by humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and dark bile) and, consequently, principles (heat, cold, dry and humid), the Hippocratic author seeks an explanation of phenomena such as epidemic diseases and nutritional disorders. Although the text is anachronistic, according to the current scientific perspective, there are epistemological principles obtained through contemplative science and empiricism that still have some value in relation to medical epistemology concerning human body comprehension.
Cultural Legacy and Professional Values in Method of Medicine Book I, by Galen (129-217)
Hélio Angotti-Neto
Original title: Legado cultural e valores profissionais no Livro I de Método da Medicina, de Galeno (129-217)
Published in Mirabilia Journal 31 (2020/2)
Keywords: Galen, Hippocrates, History of Medicine, Medical Education, Medical Ethics.
This work translates excerpts from Book I of the work Method of Medicine, by the ancient doctor Galen. In its content, aspects related to the transmission of knowledge to the next generation of professionals and the necessary attention to the moral elements of the profession, which must permeate the practice and its transmission, are discussed.
Editorial: IV UNESC Seminar of Medical Humanities
Hélio ANGOTTI NETO
Original title: Editorial: IV Seminário UNESC de Humanidades Médicas
Published in
Keywords: Galen, Hippocrates, Philosophy.
This volume of Mirabilia/Medicinæ brings two articles about the Hippocratic legacy. The first one was presented in the IV UNESC Seminar of Medical Humanities, and the second article brings a broad perspective of the many links between Medicine and Classical Philosophy.
Medicin and Philosophy in Direct Dialectic Relation During the Classical and Late Antiquity
Sophia KARYMPALI-KYRIAZIS
Original title: Medicina e Filosofia em Relação Dialética Direta Durante a Antiguidade Clássica e Tardia
Published in
Keywords: Antiquity, Asclepius, Galen, Hippocrates, Medicine, Philosophy.
Medicine and Philosophy, in classical antiquity mainly, coexisted and joined hands as activities of the human intellect, with one exerting fruitful influence on the other in the course of time. The influence of philosophy on ancient medicine is generally accepted, as the theories of pre-Socratic philosophers from the 6th century BC for the interpretation of the world and human nature were the main inspiration for the formulation of the first medical texts. Natural philosophers from Ionia, such as Thales of Miletus, Anaximander, Anaximenes and Heraclitus, through their theories, laid the foundations towards future medical advances. Hippocrates of Kos, with his medical treatises in “Corpus Hippocraticum” was greatly influenced by the philosophical thought. Hippocrates is considered the “father of medicine” because he broadened the medical knowledge of his time and laid the foundations of medicine as science, releasing it from magic and superstitions. Plato and Aristotle refer to Hippocrates in their works and speak with respect about him acknowledging his enormous contribution to the healing of serious diseases. In the ancient world, Asclepius, who was considered a great healer of many serious diseases, was worshiped as the patron god of medicine. In his honor temples were erected and next to them great therapeutic centers, the well known “Asclepieia”, scattered in many cities of Ancient Greece and Asia Minor. In the 5th, 4th and 3rd century BC there are great medical schools that operate, founded by famous medico-philosophers of the time, such as the School of Kos, the Sicilian School, the Medical School of Cnidus, Cyrene, Rhodes, Alexandria, etc. In post-Hippocratic era, medico-philosophical Schools are formed, such as the School of Dogmatics, Empiricists, Methodics in Rome, Pneumatics, and Eclectics, all connected to the philosophical thought and tradition. Among the physicians of late antiquity stands out Galen, whose theories influenced Western medicine until the 17th century AD. In the Hellenistic period the major philosophical Schools of the Epicureans and the Stoics form a philosophical concept with physical health and psychological well-being as points of reference. Medicine was founded as a science in the period of classical antiquity, 5th to 4th century BC, and bequeathed its rich background to later centuries, so that today it has come to be regarded as a deeply humanistic and social science with strong philosophical roots and origins.
The Medical-Patient Relationship in the Hippocratic Works: Ancient Medicine; Airs, Waters, and Places; Epidemy I and III; Precepts.
Kaio Cezar Gomes PESSIM, Hélio ANGOTTI NETO
Original title: A Relação Médico-Paciente na Obra Hipocrática: Medicina Antiga; Ares, Líquidos e Locais; Epidemia I e III; Preceitos.
Published in
Keywords: Hippocrates, Medical-Patient Relationship.
The origin of Ocidental Medicine occurs in Ancient Greece with the Hippocratic School, when the technical and ethical principles for healthcare that still endure were created. Our objective is to correlate Hippocratic original excerpts on medical ethics with contemporary professional and ethic parameters, showing the link between the origin of western medicine and its contemporary practice. The material of this work derives from the first volume of Hippocratic writings form the Loeb Classical Library, published by Harvard, and compared with Spanish and Portuguese translations together with the original Greek excerpts. The original excerpts from the Hippocratic writings were selected according to the relation observed with medical-patient relationship and contemporary aspects professionalism. The Hippocratic work, here exposed, shows professional and ethical aspects that remain valid and comprehensible according to contemporary parameters observed in medical practice, which can be seen in ethical works like the Medical Code of Ethics, from the Federal Council of Medicine, in Brazil.
The Symbolic and Moral Interpretation of the Hippocratic Oath
Hélio Angotti-Neto
Original title: A Interpretação Simbólica e Moral do Juramento Hipocrático
Published in Mirabilia Journal
Keywords: Aristotle, Hippocrates, Hippocratic Oath, History of Medicine, Medical Humanities.
The Hippocratic Oath remains as one of the most famous ethical texts in Medical Ethics and Bioethics. The objective of this essay is to clarify its poetic and symbolic interpretations, searching for the adequate comprehension of the Oath using a critical narrative approach with the Aristotelian Theory of the Four Discourses and the interpretation of its direct, indirect, specific and general moral prescriptions. The Oath is a poetic text, which can be used to cause a powerful impression upon the new physician, helping in his moral education and in his commitment with the moral community of Medicine. This analysis makes evident that the Hippocratic Oath still can be used for medical education and professional inspiration, rather than just be discarded as a historical curiosity. The conclusion is that the Oath can be approached more properly with specific literary and philosophical tools that can decode its meanings to better comprehension for the contemporary physician.
