If you do not know what you are searching for, You will never find it! Investing in the philosophy of medicine will yield exceptional benefits.
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, you will also suffer a defeat for every victory gained. You will succumb in every battle if you know neither the enemy nor yourself." (Sun Tzu)
Sun Tzu was a Chinese politician and general. Considered the strategic founder of the art of war.
Is there a unified philosophy of medical science today? The answer is "No." Modern medicine has extensive literature, procedures, methods, and practices, but these cannot be considered a philosophy of medicine! The finding that modern conventional medicine has no independent philosophy surprised me!
Medicine has advanced miraculously at the technological level. Still, the failures (which are not often discussed) in the whole context of chronic diseases, autoimmune diseases, cancer, mental disorders, addictions, and more can be directly attributed to the lack of an independent philosophy of medical sciences.
Introduction and Prolog.
The philosophy of medicine has a deeper meaning than it seems, of a "compass" and the borders of what is possible and reasonable.
Links: Does the philosophy of medicine exist? (Theoretical medicine) | Philosophy of medicine (Wikipedia) |
- Medical science has many methodologies, therapeutic protocols, extensive literature, innovative technologies, procedures, principles, and guidelines, but this is not philosophy! In my eyes, the lack of philosophy explains modern medicine's (hidden) failures.
- Paradoxically, traditional Chinese and Indian medicine thousands of years ago, with no knowledge of anatomy, physiology, or chemistry, developed medical philosophy, parts of which are still helpful today. They are not up-to-date and do not qualify as stand-alone medicine in the 21st century. But at the level of philosophical thinking and balance between body, mind & spirit, they were very advanced for their time.
Is it desirable that the philosophy of medicine be a sub-branch of philosophy (as it is today) or a sub-branch of medicine?
- Seemingly this is a semantic question, but the determination has great significance. It dictates to those involved in the field. Search the rest of the sciences. Indeed, several surprising discoveries in areas related to philosophy, such as the theory of mathematical incompleteness, developed by Kurt Godel, and whether we live in a simulation by Nick Bostrom, were created by philosophers but with mathematical tools! In most cases, those who practice philosophy do not have enough knowledge of the sciences to engage in the philosophy of medicine.
The SWOT analysis points to a mirror image between Modern Medicine and Self-Healing (Alternative-functional) Medicine's weaknesses and strengths.
Thus the integration between both is requested.
Link: Conventional Modern Medicine vs. Self-Healing (Alternative-Functional) Medicine SWOT analysis.
Is there a need for a unified philosophy of medical science? The answer is definitely "YES." The medical field in the 21 century is a war zone dictated by modern lifestyle. Would the human race allow itself to enter a brutal war without a strategy? I guess not!
- The confusion between symptoms, causes, and catalysts, which leads to fighting the symptoms, is, in my opinion, part of this trend," medical philosophy is a field for philosophers." (Symptomatic treatments cannot cure the patient, as they do not eliminate the causes of the disease.)
Advanced biochemistry and other technological instruments do not necessarily reveal all the secrets of the body, mind & spirit. To know the correct answers, we must understand what we are searching for; in other words, it is - PHILOSOPHY.
All exact sciences have a philosophy, usually supported by mathematical formulas.
Medicine combines life sciences and exact sciences but does not have an independent philosophy!
- If you search (Kurt Gudel or Alan Turing), you will find that even mathematics and computer science have a philosophy. Physics and chemistry have well-founded theories and profound philosophical questions, often unanswered.
- The best-known formula in the world is probably energy equal to mass, double the speed of light squared. As early as 1905, Albert Einstein established the connection between energy and mass. (Material) The most recent theories of modern physics (string theory) show a direct relationship between matter and energy. Only medicine still insists on a mechanistic conception of the human body!
- Paradoxically, Chinese and Indian medicine, with no knowledge of anatomy, physiology, or chemistry, developed medical philosophy thousands of years ago, parts of which are still helpful today. They are not up-to-date and do not qualify as stand-alone medicine in the 21st century. But at the level of philosophical thinking and balance between body, mind & soul, they were very advanced for their time.
Medicine is integrated into many fields, so the philosophical questions it raises are many and more profound.
Some illustrations of topics that the philosophy of medicine may deal with.
The examples I have given may seem banal, but they are critical to understanding future medicine. (Many other diverse philosophical issues can be raised)
Is it possible to translate all human activity into mathematical formulas, including emotions and thoughts? (Far-reaching implications)
The connection between Body, Mind & Spirit.
- Is the body just a physical entity or also a physical-energetic combination? There is a duality between matter and energy in the science of physics. Is it also valid for medical science?
- What is the connection between body, mind, and spirit, how does it work, and how is it manifested?
- What is the explanation of the placebo effect?
Does the body occasionally act randomly? (Immense implications)
- Is it possible to describe the body's physiology using mathematical models?
- Does Nash equilibrium exist in the human body?
Invasive medicine philosophy.
Can one expect a unified and uniform explanation of all identities and sexual orientations?
What will the medicine of the future look like? Is it a combination of drugs and advanced invasive procedures?
Why is it critical to distinguish between the symptoms, causes of the disease, the catalysts, and the illness triggers?
- Can a symptomatic treatment be effective, and under what conditions to treat chronic diseases?
- What is the definition of physical pain? Is it only related to endurance or involves other objective metrics?
Is there a common denominator for all types of addictions?
- Are addictions just biochemical phenomena, or do they have other hidden dimensions?
What is inflammation?
- Why chronic morbidity often outbreaks around the '50s
- Does sweating have more underlying functions beyond body cooling?
- Infection vs. Inflammation. Is there a difference?
- What are the four types of fatigue?
Summary and Conclusions.
Is there a unified philosophy of modern medical science today? Surprisingly, the answer is "No."
- Medicine has extensive professional literature, history documentation, many methods, treatment protocols, and advanced technologies, but these are not a philosophy but, at best, just a tactic.
- Is there a need for a unified philosophy of medical science? The answer is definitely "yes."
- The medical field in the 21 century is a war zone dictated by modern lifestyle. Would the human race allow itself to enter a problematic war without a strategy? I guess not!
The philosophy of medicine must be a sub-branch of treatment, not philosophy as today. The philosophy of medicine must integrate conventional medicine with medicine for self-healing.
The lack of a modern medicine philosophy is the primary reason for the consistent failures in curing chronic diseases and cancer.
