Medicine Quiz1

What is the fundamental question of medicine?

Why does medicine have a history?

What is the answer to the fundamental question of medicine?

The parable of the blind men and elephant. The blind men disagree not become some understand better than others, but because each is holding a different part of the elephant

Closure

The phenomenon of observing the parts but perceiving the whole; the natural impulse of our minds to fill in gaps

Western Medicine timeline

Pre-classical medicine: mid 5th-century

Modern medicine: Late 19th century

East Asian Medicine timeline

Pre-classical medicine: 2nd century BCE

Modern medicine: Mid 19th century

Hippocrates

Real historical doctor, Hippocratic Works (ca 450-350 BCE)

Huangdi Neijing

Mythical figure, Huangi Neijing - the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic of Medicine (2nd c. BCE - 2nd c. CE)

Similarities between Hippocrates and the Yellow Emperor

emphasis on winds, topological treatments

Evolution of Greek Medicine

Hippocrates (c. 460-c.370 BCE) => Galen (129-200 CE)

Birth of muscle consciousness, birth of pulse diagnosis, emphasis on bloodletting

Evolution of Chinese Medicine

Mawangdui Silk Texts (168 BCE) => Huangdi Neijing (2nd c. BCE => 2nd c. CE)

Birth of acupuncture, birth of qiemo (pulse-taking)

Pre-classical medicine beliefs

Sickness was mostly due to gods, demons, curses, and other invisible forces

Classical medicine beliefs

The causes of illness were rooted in everyday personal experience. Sickness was mostly due to food, lifestyle, weather, and individual disposition. Colds were caused by cold, drafts, and rain

Classical Medicine Advice for sickness

Warming remedies to counter cold disease

Modern Medicine advice

Protect yourself from bacteria and take pills*

Medical Revolution causes

Pre-classical: sickness was due to imperceptible gods and demons

Classical: sickness was due to perceptible causes

Modern: Sickness is due to imperceptible microbes, viruses, and gems

Medical revolution cures

Pre-classical: sickness cured by magic rituals, performed by shamans

Classical: sickness cured by remedies comprehensible to patients

Modern: sickness cured by magical pills and technologies

3 Key Lessons:

1) The long reign of classical medicine that was common to both Western and East Asian medicine

2) The Great Forgetting - the distinctive feature of Western medicine

3) The Modern Revolution - our current situation

Wind

Time experienced as the felt force of transformation

Proper Winds

Winds that blow from the right direction at the right time and cause minimal harm, even when violent. The recognition of a fundamental regularity in the world. (ex: easterly wind in spring )

Evil Winds

Wind that comes from the wrong direction at the wrong time and can be fatal. The recognition of an inescapable fringe of chaos. (ex: westerly wind in spring)