Literature, fine art, poetry, music serve to remind overworked clinicians that they are part of a timeless tradition of healing whole human beings, who present in all their magnificence and complexity. Also, that physicians themselves participate in the tradition of physicians as humanists. Perhaps that’s why a liberal arts education – in my opinion – makes an important contribution to the practice of medicine today.
In 1980 the historian G.S. Rousseau expressed concern that modern physicians no longer embodied the humanist tradition of their predecessors. Now that medicine had become overwhelmingly a science rather than an art, he claimed, the interests and accomplishments of physicians had narrowed.
It was not uncommon, for Victorian and Edwardian doctors … to write prolifically throughout their careers. … In twentieth-century America … only the most imaginative physicians can hope for this artistic lifestyle as a consequence of the economic constraints and housekeeping demands placed upon the doctor.
I find these drawings by Jason Whitman, with their accompanying statements, strangely moving. The words are so tender. The animals express their complaints and their wonder about living in a post-modern world. I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t think we should talk anymore. I’ve gotten to point where there is no point. I…
Source: Amazon Anyone who has an interest in Carl Jung will want to read this New York Times article on the upcoming publication of Jung’s The Red Book. For most of the last century, the very existence of this work has been only a rumor. Jung wrote this illustrated journal between the ages of 39…
One reason it’s so hard to make progress on health care reform is that it’s an extremely complex problem. Although President Obama does an excellent job of articulating the issues simply and clearly, it appears his message is not getting through clearly enough. Dan Roam, a business consultant and the author of The Back of…
Source: Process Recess Anatomical skateboard art by James Jean. Jean’s statement, which explains skating as the inspiration for his image, is pure poetry. Skating has always seemed to me a courageous activity, and what is courage but an absence of shame. Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden, pitiful in their nakedness, shameful in their…
