The Healing Relationship: The Architectonics of Clinical Medicine

  • Edmund D. Pellegrino
Chapter
Part of the Philosophy and Medicine book series (PHME, volume 14)

Abstract

In his devastating novel of the destructive force of human passion, the Spanish philosopher-novelist, Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo records this conversation between the painter, Abel Sanchez, and the doctor, Joaquin Monegro:

  • The habit of giving titles to paintings is peculiar to the literati; something like the doctor’s habit of giving names to diseases they can’t cure.

  • And whatever told you that the real purpose of medicine was to cure illnesses?

  • What is it, then?

  • Knowledge, a knowledge of disease. The end of all science is knowledge.

  • I had thought it was knowledge to cure. What use otherwise of having tasted the fruits of good and evil, if not to free ourselves of the evil?

  • And the end of art, what is it?

  • That is its own end; it contains its purpose. It is an object of beauty and that’s enough ([6], p. 366).

Keywords

Clinical Medicine Good Decision Biomedical Model General System Theory Healing Relationship 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© D. Reidel Publishing Company 1983

Authors and Affiliations

  • Edmund D. Pellegrino
    • 1
  1. 1.Georgetown UniversityUSA

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