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The Enigma of Health: The Art of Healing in a Scientific Age
In this important new book, Hans-Georg Gadamer discusses the transformation in human self-understanding wrought by the scientific worldview, focusing in particular on the unparalleled achievements of modern medicine. He explores the ethical and humanist issues raised by the technological successes of modern clinical practice, and relates them to the classical conception of "praxis" in the philosophical tradition. In a series of lucid and engaging analyses, Gadamer eloquently defends the idea of medicine, not only as a "science of health, but as an "art" of hermeneutic relevance, requiring the exercise of practical judgment and personal interpretation. We should, he argues, recognize the limits of purely technical approach to healing, as well as the importance of a qualitative approach to medical treatment. Written by one of the leading philosophers of the twentieth century, this brilliant meditation on health, illness, and the art of healing will be of interest to general readers as well as students of philosophy and social thought.
180 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Hans-Georg Gadamer
273 books309 followersHans-Georg Gadamer was born February 11, 1900 in Marburg, Germany.
(Arabic: هانز جورج غادامير)
Gadamer showed an early aptitude for studies in philosophy and after receiving his doctoral degree in 1922 he went on to work directly under Martin Heidegger for a period of five years. This had a profound and lasting effect on Gadamer's philosophical progression.
Gadamer was a teacher for most of his life, and published several important works: Truth and Method is considered his magnum opus. In this work Heidegger's notion of hermeneutics is seen clearly: hermeneutics is not something abstract that one can pick up and leave at will, but rather is something that one does at all times. To both Heidegger and to Gadamer, hermeneutics is not restricted to texts but to everything encountered in one's life.
Gadamer is most well-known for the notion of a horizon of interpretation, which states that one does not simply interpret something, but that in the act of interpretation one becomes changed as well. In this way, he takes some of the notions from Heidegger's Being and Time, notably that which Heidegger had to say about prejudgements and their role in interpreting and he turns them into a more positive notion: Gadamer sees every act and experience (which is a hermeneutical experience to a Gadamerian) as a chance to call into question and to change those prejudgements, for in the horizon of interpretation those prejudgements are not forever fixed.
Gadamer is considered the most important writer on the nature and task of hermeneutics of the 20th century, which was still widely considered a niche within Biblical studies until Truth and Method was widely read and discussed.
He died at the age of 102 in Heidelberg (March, 2002).
(Arabic: هانز جورج غادامير)
Gadamer showed an early aptitude for studies in philosophy and after receiving his doctoral degree in 1922 he went on to work directly under Martin Heidegger for a period of five years. This had a profound and lasting effect on Gadamer's philosophical progression.
Gadamer was a teacher for most of his life, and published several important works: Truth and Method is considered his magnum opus. In this work Heidegger's notion of hermeneutics is seen clearly: hermeneutics is not something abstract that one can pick up and leave at will, but rather is something that one does at all times. To both Heidegger and to Gadamer, hermeneutics is not restricted to texts but to everything encountered in one's life.
Gadamer is most well-known for the notion of a horizon of interpretation, which states that one does not simply interpret something, but that in the act of interpretation one becomes changed as well. In this way, he takes some of the notions from Heidegger's Being and Time, notably that which Heidegger had to say about prejudgements and their role in interpreting and he turns them into a more positive notion: Gadamer sees every act and experience (which is a hermeneutical experience to a Gadamerian) as a chance to call into question and to change those prejudgements, for in the horizon of interpretation those prejudgements are not forever fixed.
Gadamer is considered the most important writer on the nature and task of hermeneutics of the 20th century, which was still widely considered a niche within Biblical studies until Truth and Method was widely read and discussed.
He died at the age of 102 in Heidelberg (March, 2002).
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 9, 2022
"دفاعیهای از هنر درمان"
«افلاطون در اینجا [قطعهی فایدروس] دربارهی هنر حقیقی سخنوری صحبت میکند و مقایسهای با هنر درمان صورت میدهد. در هر دو مورد، مسئله، فهم طبیعت، طبیعت روح یا طبیعت جسم، در میان است؛ حداقل به عمل براساس دانش اصیل امیدوار باشیم تا صرفِ عمل براساس تجربهی معمول و روزمره. درست همانگونه که باید بدانیم کدام درمانها و چه خوراکیهایی باید برای جسم بهکار گرفته شود تا جسم بار دیگر سالم و پرتوان گردد، باید بدانیم که کدام قوانین و مقررات و چه نوع گفتاری باید به روح عرضه شود تا به باورهای درست برسد و هستی اصیل یا فضیلت (آرته) خود را بهدست آورد.»
"فلسفه و پزشکی عملی"
«دقیقا در درمان بیمار مزمن و نهایتا در توجه به مردن است که بهیاد میآوریم بیمار آدم است و نه «نمونه» [کِیس] .»
«افلاطون در اینجا [قطعهی فایدروس] دربارهی هنر حقیقی سخنوری صحبت میکند و مقایسهای با هنر درمان صورت میدهد. در هر دو مورد، مسئله، فهم طبیعت، طبیعت روح یا طبیعت جسم، در میان است؛ حداقل به عمل براساس دانش اصیل امیدوار باشیم تا صرفِ عمل براساس تجربهی معمول و روزمره. درست همانگونه که باید بدانیم کدام درمانها و چه خوراکیهایی باید برای جسم بهکار گرفته شود تا جسم بار دیگر سالم و پرتوان گردد، باید بدانیم که کدام قوانین و مقررات و چه نوع گفتاری باید به روح عرضه شود تا به باورهای درست برسد و هستی اصیل یا فضیلت (آرته) خود را بهدست آورد.»
"فلسفه و پزشکی عملی"
«دقیقا در درمان بیمار مزمن و نهایتا در توجه به مردن است که بهیاد میآوریم بیمار آدم است و نه «نمونه» [کِیس] .»
January 6, 2015
Once again, the prominent philosopher of the twentieth century, Gadamer, opens a vast field of questioning and reflection. This time, Gadamer discusses in this collection of essays the manner by which medicine is an art, the restrictions of technologies in the field of medicine, and how health functions or should function.
For Gadamer medicine is not a science supposed to produce health. Rather, the role of medicine is to restore one's body to a state of healthiness. When we are healthy we do not know that we actually are. We rather indirctly feel it when we are in a state of well being, but when we fall sick this state of well being vanishes and we find ourselves unable to cope with the new sick state, so we seek the help of a doctor. The encounter with the doctor though should not be the encounter of a subjective-actor to an object (the patient). Considering patients as cases to fix is an invalid way of dealing with the human-patient, but it is a method produced by a scientific method. Therefore, Doctors must learn to instil a dialogue with their patient the way personal doctors used to do. Even though it is helpful to learn the theoretical general knowledge concerning the 'rules' of health, doctors still need to apply the theoretical knowledge according to the needs of patients and not according to general rules. Each patient has their own needs, so they have to receive a treatment which helps them and not oppress them to the scientific norms.
Health is not something doctors produce. Rather, health is a state doctors aim to restore. Nature, and not doctors, plays an important role in the restoration of the body to a state of well being. Doctors then assists nature in running its course smoothly once again by detecting the sickness patients suffer from and trying to get rid of that inconvenience so that the patience goes back to a "happy" life and to their social context in order to fullfill their role within their community.
Technologies used in the field of medicine are helpful but not that powerful. For instance, Instruments used by the doctor to help him detect the sickness do not detain absolute truth, but possibilities likely to be valid to an extent. For Gadamer, the problem that the modern time encounters is the dangerous dependence that individuals have on technolgies to tell them how they feel and what they have to do. Individuals are not mathematical constructs; they enclose more elements than flesh and bones. The decisive elements that defines humans are their capacity to reflect and to open themselves to myriads of possibilities, and their souls which function in a mysterious and complex but present way. Therefore, it's important to investigate these elements along with the obvious ones in order to be able to restore one's capacity to think, function, and experience well being.
This translation is not a bad one. The translator uses short and clear sentences to convey Gadamer's meaning. Even though the translation surely lacks some of the originality of the German text, but it's also very pleasant to read.
For Gadamer medicine is not a science supposed to produce health. Rather, the role of medicine is to restore one's body to a state of healthiness. When we are healthy we do not know that we actually are. We rather indirctly feel it when we are in a state of well being, but when we fall sick this state of well being vanishes and we find ourselves unable to cope with the new sick state, so we seek the help of a doctor. The encounter with the doctor though should not be the encounter of a subjective-actor to an object (the patient). Considering patients as cases to fix is an invalid way of dealing with the human-patient, but it is a method produced by a scientific method. Therefore, Doctors must learn to instil a dialogue with their patient the way personal doctors used to do. Even though it is helpful to learn the theoretical general knowledge concerning the 'rules' of health, doctors still need to apply the theoretical knowledge according to the needs of patients and not according to general rules. Each patient has their own needs, so they have to receive a treatment which helps them and not oppress them to the scientific norms.
Health is not something doctors produce. Rather, health is a state doctors aim to restore. Nature, and not doctors, plays an important role in the restoration of the body to a state of well being. Doctors then assists nature in running its course smoothly once again by detecting the sickness patients suffer from and trying to get rid of that inconvenience so that the patience goes back to a "happy" life and to their social context in order to fullfill their role within their community.
Technologies used in the field of medicine are helpful but not that powerful. For instance, Instruments used by the doctor to help him detect the sickness do not detain absolute truth, but possibilities likely to be valid to an extent. For Gadamer, the problem that the modern time encounters is the dangerous dependence that individuals have on technolgies to tell them how they feel and what they have to do. Individuals are not mathematical constructs; they enclose more elements than flesh and bones. The decisive elements that defines humans are their capacity to reflect and to open themselves to myriads of possibilities, and their souls which function in a mysterious and complex but present way. Therefore, it's important to investigate these elements along with the obvious ones in order to be able to restore one's capacity to think, function, and experience well being.
This translation is not a bad one. The translator uses short and clear sentences to convey Gadamer's meaning. Even though the translation surely lacks some of the originality of the German text, but it's also very pleasant to read.
October 8, 2021
What a breath of fresh air! I could go on for days about Hans-Georg Gadamer and The Enigma of Health, but I will keep it brief and say that finding this book was a life-changing experience. I am so fortunate to have discovered Gadamer when I did, while reading Martin Heidegger’s notoriously difficult Being and Time. The insights contained within The Enigma of Health have crystallized Heidegger’s ideas within my own mind, and have led to a greater appreciation of his sprawling and often unintelligible phenomenological project.
Gadamer was such a brilliant and comprehensive thinker, and his hermeneutic work has so much to offer the humanities and social sciences today. A broad familiarity with the Ancient Greeks, the Pre-Socratics, and - of course - the German continental tradition will enrich the reading experience.
Gadamer was such a brilliant and comprehensive thinker, and his hermeneutic work has so much to offer the humanities and social sciences today. A broad familiarity with the Ancient Greeks, the Pre-Socratics, and - of course - the German continental tradition will enrich the reading experience.
May 15, 2018
گادامر از بزرگان فلسفه قاره اي هست و مطمىنا حرف هاي زيادي برا گفتن تو اين كتاب داشته.هم به واسطه فيلسوف بودنش و هم تجربه نزديكش از بيماري(فلج اطفال) ولي من به عنوان خواننده فارسي زبان به خاطر ترجمه افتضاح كتاب و عدم دسترسي به نسخه اصلي چيز زيادي دستگيرم نشد ولي يك فصل رو از سمپل گوگل بوك خوندم به زبان اصلي و متوجه مي شدم.به اميد روزي كه اگر در توانمون نيست كار ترجمه رو انجام نديم!
December 19, 2019
The book that must be considered as manifest in the area of Philosophy of Health
September 22, 2025
some interesting points but far too abstract with how it deals with them. completely disconnected from the problems and questioning the symptoms instead.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews