Catharsis: On the Art of Medicine - Softcover

Szczeklik, Andrzej

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226788687 ISBN 13: 9780226788685

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2007

Synopsis

The ancient Greeks used the term catharsis for the cleansing of both the body by medicine and the soul by art. In this inspiring book, internationally renowned cardiologist Andrzej Szczeklik draws deeply on our humanistic heritage to describe the artistry and the mystery of being a doctor. Moving between examples ancient and contemporary, mythological and scientific, Catharsis explores how medicine and art share common roots and pose common challenges.

The process of diagnosis, for instance, belongs to a world of magic and metaphor; the physician must embrace it like a poem or painting, with particular alertness and keen receptivity. Speculation on ways to slow aging through genetics, meanwhile, draws directly on the dream of immortality that artists and poets have nourished through the ages. And the concept of catharsis itself has made its way from the writings of Aristotle to today's growing interest in the benefits of music to health, especially in newborns. As Szczeklik explores such subjects as the mysteries of the heart rhythm, the secret history of pain relief, the enigmatic logic of epidemics, near-death or out-of-body experiences, and many more, he skillfully weaves together classical literature, the history of medicine, and moving anecdotes from his own clinical experiences. The result is a life-affirming book that will enrich the healing work of patients and doctors alike and make an invaluable contribution to our still-expanding vision of the art of medicine.

About this title

About the Author

Andrzej Szczeklik is professor in and chair of the Department of Medicine in the School of Medicine at the Jagiellonian University, Poland. For his scientific contributions to the study of asthma and myocardial infarction, he has received awards from the Royal College of Physicians, the Lancet, and the Foundation for Polish Science. Antonia Lloyd-Jones is a translator of Polish literature whose recent works include Mercedes Benz, a novel by Pawel Huelle, and In the Garden of Memory, a family biography by Joanna Olczak-Ronikier.

From Publishers Weekly

Szczeklik, a professor at the School of Medicine at Jagiellonian University, Poland, applies an art critic's sensibilities to the practice of medicine in this thin but intellectually dense volume. In his philosophical consideration of medicine and humanity, Szczeklik draws on Greek myth, history and the arts to explore the nature of medicine, describing the startling archetypes that appear across different cultures, times and circumstances: dreams, the search for immortality, or the symbolism of entwined serpents, from the caduceus to DNA's serpentine spiral. He also draws on personal experiences to illustrate the challenges and surprises doctors encounter. These anecdotes help describe the toll of suffering and the specter of death, both of which lie at the heart of medicine. He notes that it is only very recently that people have been sedated when they die and no longer "experience" death as, for example, Chopin did at a time when death was experienced in the "sufferer's consciousness." Something of a poet himself, Szczeklik says, "Scientists have a soft spot for metaphors and are often as sensitive to them as poets." Apt metaphors, he continues, have "contributed to the development of science just as much as rigorous conclusions based on objective data."
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Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0226788687
• ISBN 13: 9780226788685
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 174