Abstract
“Medical humanities” is a phrase whose currency is wider than its agreed meaning or denotation. What sort of study is it, and what is its relation to the study of philosophy of medicine? This paper briefly reviews the origins of the current flowering of interest and activity in studies that are collectively called “medical humanities” and presents an account of its nature and central enquiries in which philosophical questions are unashamedly central. In the process this paper argues that the field of enquiry is well-conceived as being philosophical in character, and as having philosophy — albeit pursued over a larger canvas — at the core of its contributing humanities disciplines. The paper characterises humanities disciplines as having an important focus on human experience and subjectivity, of which the experiences and subjectivities at stake in health, medicine and illness form an important sub-set, the preoccupation of the medical humanities as a whole. Claims of interdisciplinarity (as distinct from multidisciplinarity) are noted, but such claims need to be recognised for the high and stern ambition that they embody, and should not be made lightly.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bolton G.: 2001, Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development, London: Paul Chapman
Cassell E.: 1991, The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Evans M.: 2002a, Medicine, Philosophy and the Medical Humanities, British Journal of General Practice 52(479), 447–449
Evans M.: 2002b, Reflections on the Humanities in Medical Education, Medical Education 36(6), 508–513
Evans M.: 2003, Roles for Literature in Medical Education, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment 9, 380–386
Evans H.M.: 2007, Medical Humanities: An Overview, in: R. Ashcroft, H. Draper, A. Dawson, J. MacMillan (eds.), Principles of Health Care Ethics (2nd edition), Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, 199–206
Evans H.M., R.J. Macnaughton: 2004, Should Medical Humanities be a Multidisciplinary or an Interdisciplinary Study? Journal of Medical Ethics: Medical Humanities 30(1), 1–4
Greaves D.: 2001, The Nature and Role of the Medical Humanities, in: M. Evans, I. Finlay (eds.), Medical Humanities, London: BMJ Books, pp. 1–22
Haddon M.: 2002, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. London: Jonathan Cape
Hampshire S.: 1989, Innocence and Experience, Cambridge: Harvard University Press
Hampshire A.J., A.J. Avery: 2001, What can Students Learn from Studying Medicine in Literature? Medical Education 35, 687–690
Hofmann B.: 2001, The Technological Invention of Disease, Journal of Medical Ethics: Medical Humanities 27(1), 10–19
Holm S.: 2000, Changes to Bodily Appearance: The Aesthetics of Deliberate Intervention, Journal of Medical Ethics: Medical Humanities 26(1), 43–48
Hunter K.M., R. Charon, J.L. Coulehan 1995, Study of Literature in Medical Education, Academic Medicine 70(9), 787–794
Kirklin, D. and R. Richardson (eds.): 2001, Medical Humanities: A Practical Introduction. London: Royal College of Physicians
Macnaughton J.: 2001, Why Medical Humanities Now?, in: M. Evans, I. Finlay (eds.), Medical Humanities, London: BMJ Books, pp. 187–203
Robson, M. and M. White: 2003, ‘Ice to Fire’ Mailout, June 2003
Sacks O.: 1986, A Leg to Stand on. London: Pan Books
Sweeney K.: 1996, How can Evidence-Based Medicine Help Patients in General Practice? Family Practice 13, 489–490
Toulmin S.: 1993, Knowledge and Art in the Practice of Medicine: Clinical Judgement and Historical Reconstruction. in: C. Delkeskamp-Hayes, M.A. Gardell Cutter (eds.), Science, Technology and the Art of Medicine, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers pp. 231–249
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Evans, H.M. Medical humanities: stranger at the gate, or long-lost friend?. Med Health Care and Philos 10, 363–372 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-007-9079-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-007-9079-x