Book Review: Angotti Neto and the case against Medicine as Ideology
Ivanaldo Oliveira dos SANTOS FILHO
Original title: Resenha Literária: Angotti Neto e a denúncia da medicina como ideologia
Published in
Keywords: A Morte da Medicina, Ideology, Medicine.
The book denounces the ideological invasion suffered by the Medicine in the last decades. It also shows how the healthcare professional can be used as a tool of social engineers, corrupting the original ideals of Medicine.
Disease, Sin and Soul Medicine in the preaching of Saint Anthony (c. 1195-1231)
Gustavo Cambraia FRANCO
Original title: Doença, pecado e medicina da alma na pregação de Santo Antônio (c. 1195-1231)
Published in War and Disease in Antiquity and the Middle Ages
Keywords: Body, Disease, Medicine, Saint Anthony of Lisbon, Sin.
The purpose of this article is to analyze the ideas of Saint Anthony of Lisbon, a XIIIth century Franciscan preacher, about diseases and their relationship with the medieval doctrine of sin and vices. The theme is exposed from evangelical passages and a series of related biblical accounts, explained by Saint Anthony, which contain references to diseases and physical sickness. His sermons emphasize, through the exegesis of the allegorical and moral senses, that the human body and its five senses are open doors to vices, by which the human soul, and even the body itself, are infected and affected by various physical and spiritual illnesses. So, only the medicine of Christ and of his preachers, the continuous exercise of virtues and penitential practices have the power to heal and regenerate man to its original state of health.
Doctrinal features of early Christianity and medicine. From the Didascalia Apostolorum to Gregory of Nyssa
Manuel ORTUÑO ARREGUI
Original title: Los rasgos doctrinales del cristianismo primitivo y la medicina. De la Didascalia Apostolorum a Gregorio de Nisa
Published in The Kingdom of the Spirit
Keywords: Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nisa, Medicine, Primitive Christianity.
The aim of this paper has been to present the doctrinal features connecting early Christianity and medicine through the theological contributions of the holy fathers. Specifically, we have focused on the evolution of the doctrinal relationship from the Didascalia apostolorum to Gregory of Nyssa. In the analysis of this relationship through the texts we discover two ways of seeing the medicine of his time at the beginning of the diffusion and transmission of the Christian message and the beginning of its anthropology as opposed to paganism or Christianity. Basil represents a less scientific or rational medicine, and on the other hand, Gregory of Nyssa offers us a penitential and even pastoral medicine with evident Neoplatonic philosophical influences. In short, we can see an advance in the beginnings of Christian anthropology and its relationship with the medicine of the time, which can be summed up in the beginning of the ‘Theology of Illness’, which is fundamentally centered on penitential medicine.
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 knowledge of the Medicine in the writings of Basil of Caesarea
Eirini ARTEMI
Published in Mirabilia Journal
Keywords: Basil of Casarea, Christianity, Diseases, Medicine.
The medicine is a gift of God to people. Basil insisted that monks and many other people should use it in their daily life, because is quite useful for the flourishing of human life. He is well acquainted with the field of medicine, so that some of his references to medical problems or treatments are so close to today's descriptions of medical textbooks. In his commentary on the prophet Isaiah, he refers to definitions of surgery, bruise, wound. He underlines the medical problems of pregnancy and ophthalmological diseases. Did Basil consider medicine better than the grace of God? Can his teaching about the medicine persuade Christians of this era to trust doctors instead of miracles? Can his teaching and his general attitude to the pandemic diseases of the fourth century be an example for people and doctors to face the medical problems as they should be? Are there boarders between faith and medicine?
Ways of thinking and acting: erudite culture at court and reordering of assistance in the reign of king D. João II (1481-1495) and D. Leonor (1481-1525)
André Costa Aciole da SILVA
Original title: Maneiras de pensar e de agir: a cultura erudita na corte e o reordenamento da assistência no reinado de D. João II (1481-1495) e D. Leonor (1481-1525)
Published in Society and Culture in Portugal
Keywords: Assistance, Culture, Hospitals, Medicine, Portugal.
The theme of assisting those in need of material resources or spiritual support, and especially the sick, has been the focus of intense historiographical production. The following text points out an aspect that contributed to the reordering of assistance in Portugal at the end of the Middle Ages, focusing on the actions promoted by the monarchs of D. João II and his wife D. Leonor. Our objective is to show how the erudite culture in the court, as well as some external influences, helped to guide the creation of the royal hospitals in Lisbon (Hospital of All Saints) and Caldas da Rainha (Hospital Our Lady of Pópulo).
