[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[escepticos] El último bastión modenista



A ver si va a tener razón el griego éste:

Letters - March 18, 1998
Modern Medicine and Chaos Theory
To the Editor.?In the Piece of My Mind entitled "Chaos, and the Limits of
Modern Medicine," Dr Goodwin[1] attempts an evaluation of medicine in the
context of modernism and postmodern disillusionment, briefly reviews the
theory of chaos pointing at its relevance to medicine, and calls for a more
humane approach to the patient as an individual. His point of view is well
taken, but some of his arguments could be viewed from a different
perspective.
The modernist belief that "all things are knowable" and "growing
understanding will result in improvement of the human condition" is not new;
it is as old as the work of Plato, who, in his turn, may have borrowed from
older sources. The characterization of medicine as the "last bastion of
modernism" acquires a different meaning when viewed in a continuity bridging
centuries. The last bastion is not always the embodiment of a lost cause.
Besides, there is no reason to credit medicine with the failures of
modernism. Medicine, along with science, did not fail in the quest for
knowledge and improvement of the human condition. Prolongation of life
expectancy, decrease in infant mortality, virtual obliteration of some
diseases, and improved care for the chronically ill are only a few of the
achievements of modern medicine. All this is owed to clinicians,
academicians, and scientists. Furthermore, technological progress and deeper
understanding of body structure and functioning have changed the way disease
is viewed. Compassion and sensitivities unthought of in the past epidemics
of leprosy, syphilis, or tuberculosis have now at least entered our
vocabulary.
There is no precedent of such achievements in the history of humanity and it
would be fair to claim that if there is 1 domain of intellectual activity
that distinguishes our time, it is medicine and science. The "sensitive
dependence on initial conditions" and the fear of chaos may limit human
activity in general, but medicine still maintains a reasonable degree of
reliability and predictability and the respect it enjoys today reflects this
very fact. That is why Goodwin can still direct his hopes toward what has
been and will remain the mainstay of the traditional patient-physician
relationship?the values of respect for individuality, relief of suffering,
and care for the community.
Demetrios S. Theodoropoulos, MD, MSc
University of South Florida College of Medicine
Tampa

Reference
1. Goodwin JS. Chaos, and the limits of modern medicine. JAMA.
1997;278:1399-1400.


(JAMA. 1998;279:835-836)