Ch' 16: Ideology of Modern Medical Culture

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Ch. 16 Ideology of ModernMedical Culture

• Rels 120
• 20 oct 2006

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Allopathic Medicine

• Allopathic treatment of disease by producing
  effects that are different from those produced by
  the disease
• Homeopathic treatment of disease by trying to
  induce an effect similar to the disease

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Implications of Allopathic Medicine

• Views of disease
• Ontological diseases exist apart from the
  persons who have the disease a disease invades
  or attacks a person from the outside
• Ecological a disease is an abnormal state
  within a person it is an expression of the
  individual

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Approach of Allopathic Medicine

• Treat the symptoms (with drugs, surgery, etc.)
• Attack the disease
• What is the theory of disease causation that
  underlies allopathic medicine?
• Patient is seen as the innocent victim of an
  invader the disease
• Physician is seen as the warrior or soldier who
  fights the enemy
• Patient is passive doctor is active/aggressive

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Modern Medicine is Mechanistic

• Physical body is like a mechanical machine
• body is animated by a spirit or soul
• Body understood by means of analysis of
  structures and systems
• When body becomes ill, it needs to be repaired
  if body parts wear out, many can be replaced by
  artificial parts (e.g. joints) or transplants
  (e.g. organs) or machines can do the tasks they
  can no longer do (e.g. dialysis, or pace-makers)

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Body mechanisms

• What is the brain often compared to?
• Many of the newest pharmaceuticals have been
  developed to modify mood, anxiety, shyness, etc.
• IN CONTRAST an ecological perspective sees the
  human person as a complex whole body/mind/spirit
  are integrally interconnected healing addresses
  the whole person, not just the part or system
  that is malfunctioning

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Modern Medicine is Individualistic

• Treats diseases and disease symptoms in the
  individual patient
• Minimal attention to environmental causes of
  disease whether in the physical environment of
  pollutants or with regard to the persons stress
  or workplace environment
• Minimal attention to prevention of diseases if
  prevention involves lifestyle modifications such
  as exercise, diet, education, etc., rather than
  inoculations