Skip to main content
Log in

Towards a Medical Aesthetic and its Performative Nature

  • Published:
Journal of Medical Humanities Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Beyond the techniques and instruments it employs, medicine has an intrinsic value that enables it to be interpretative, dramatic, and above all, real. In this essay, the aesthetic that emerges through the medical examination is thoroughly discussed. The piece deconstructs the qualities of the medical examination in a manner that facilitates medical practice to be perceived as an art form. The signifiers found in a medical diagnosis and its aesthetic consequences are reviewed. The nature of the diagnosis positions medical practice as a dramatic art.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Foucault, Michel. 2003. The Birth of the Clinic: An Archeology of Medical Perception. Translated by A.M Sheridan-Smith. New York: Routledge.

  • Valdez, Adriana. 2012. De Ángeles y Ninfas: Conjeturas Sobre la Imagén en Warburg y Benjamín. Santiago de Chile: Editorial Palidonia.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Moises Enghelberg.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Enghelberg, M. Towards a Medical Aesthetic and its Performative Nature. J Med Humanit 35, 439–441 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-014-9307-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-014-9307-3

Keywords

Navigation