Great Ideas of Philosophy

III. The dominant school of Greek medicine as early as the 6 th century B.C. is that practiced by the empirikoi, thosewho base their diagnoses and treatments on observation rather than theory and theology.A. When the Hippocratics call themselves empirikoi, it is to distinguish themselves from those who consultoracles to discover the causes of disease and who think that disease—particularly mental and psychologicaldisease—has been visited upon them for things they have done.B. This attitude, rare in the following centuries, would be noticeable in Eastern Christianity, which was still intouch with Greek thought when Western Christianity considered epilepsy and madness punishment forsins.IV. If one is to promote the health and well-being of the body, then one must raise the question of what it is thatcontrols the affairs of the body. It is interesting to note how late in the game it was that naturalistic philosophyactually spoke of organs and systems in the body.A. Even as recently as Aristotle—and Aristotle is one of the pioneering figures in the history of biology andnatural science—we don’t get the sense of the body as a collection of integrated systems.B. The Hippocratics were quite correct, however, in identifying the brain as the part of the body in whichsensory and rational processes are grounded. In contrast, Aristotle regarded the central mission of the brainto be the regulation of the temperature of the blood.V. The naturalization of medicine was not singular in Greek culture; in politics and philosophy as well, naturalisticand scientific attitudes were cultivated by leading thinkers.A. These were not, however, the attitudes of most Greeks. The Greek man or woman in the street was abeliever in magic and witchcraft, oracles and superstitions.B. Many Greeks were suspicious of philosophers. Aristophanes mocked them; the Athenians executedSocrates and forced Aristotle into exile.C. But there was also tolerance. Major figures gained and kept respect; for generations, the wealthy sent theirchildren to be taught by men whom they saw not as wise so much as learned, men who knew useful arts oflife.D. A perfectionist ideal spread widely through the population, resulting in support of all forms of excellence.Perfection was something to be prized, even when one didn’t quite understand it or when one might find itdangerous.E. The statues of Phidias represent not the ordinary Greeks who looked up at them, but that ideal of humanityperfect in mind and body that the Greeks acknowledged. This legacy of perfectionism has come down to ustoday in such achievements as the space program, in which the integration of intelligence and courage,science and virtue, has resulted in humans reaching the moon.Recommended Reading:Hippocrates. “On the Wounds of the Head,” in Hippocrates, W. Jones, trans. Putnam, 1923.Lloyd, G., ed. Hippocratic Writings. Penguin, 1978.Questions to Consider:1. The Hippocratic physicians were successful, though they distinguished their efforts from those of magicians,sorcerers, and even philosophers. Summarize what their success says about the general attitudes prevailing inAthens circa 430–330 B.C.2. Explain what the place of philosophy and religion should be in a therapeutic setting that is intended to be“holistic.”©2004 The Teaching Company Limited Partnership 29