Medicine and philosophy - Classical Homeopathy Online

Galen on qualified experience 281It seems that this concept has not received the attention it deserves. 8In fact it is a genuinely Galenic technical term which is used a numberof times, especially in his dietetic and pharmacological works, 9 andwhich is of interest for a variety of reasons. First, it has a bearing on theis not restricted to pharmacological experience, but adopted as a general principle of sophisticationand accuracy in order to reduce the possibility of error; see von Staden (1997) and his references toDe comp. med. sec. loc. 2.1 (12.498 K.); 7.6 (13.107–8 K.); 9.1 (13.229 K.); De comp. med. per gen. 4.5(13.681–2 K.); De simpl. med. fac. 2.23 (11.523–5 K.). Thus Galen frequently stresses the urgency ofdiorismos with regard to the writings of other physicians, whose statements () are said to sufferfrom incorrectness or inaccuracy, being used on a par with (‘confused’), (‘without specification’) or (‘unarticulated’), as in Commentary on Hippocrates’Prognostic (In Hippocratis Prognosticon librum commentaria, In Hipp. Progn. comment.) 1.30 (CMG v9, 2,p.248.5–6 Heeg, 18b.93 K.), De simpl. med. fac. 1.18 (11.412 K.), and De comp. med. per gen. 1.14(13.426 K.). Cf. De meth. med. 6.4 (10.420 K.): ‘Some of the things written by him [i.e. Hippocrates]can be found to be lacking in qualification, or deficient or unclear’ ( [sc. ] ); 6.5 (10.425 K.);De simpl. med. fac. 2.12 (11.490 K.); 6.1 (11.805 K.); De comp. med. sec. loc. 2.1 (12.526, 529, and 532K.); 3.1 (12.619 K.): ‘Many others have in the same manner and for many parts and affections (ofthe body) described drugs without further qualification, not knowing what great power qualification(diorismos) has for the establishment of the art (of medicine)’ ( ). Galen occasionally also uses (e.g. in Desimpl. med. fac. 1.18 (11.412 K.)), (On the Sects (De sectis) 5,p.9.21 Helmreich, 1.75 K.), (De simpl. med. fac. 1.31 (11.435 K.)) and (e.g. De simpl. med. fac. 1.27 (11.429 K.))to express the same idea. On the Aristotelian origins of the concept of diorismos see below.8 Although much has been written on Galen’s attitude towards experience, the concept of has not, to the best of my knowledge, been studied or even recognised before as a technicalterm. Harig (1974, 77ff.) provides some important remarks without actually mentioning the term(see esp. p. 85: ‘Denn ein Pharmakon, das den eukratischen Gesunden erwärmt, braucht keineswegsbei einer kalten Dyskrasie und noch viel weniger bei einer kalten Krankheit wärmend zu wirken,so dass eine zuverlässige Aussage über seine wärmende Eigenschaft nur durch den Vergleich seinerWirkung unter verschiedenen Ausgangsbedingungen gewonnen werden kann’); cf. Frede (1987c)295–6: ‘Proposed theorems arrived at by experience tend to lack the proper qualifications . . . Thoughexperience puts one into a position to deal with familiar situations, it is not as resourceful as therational method when it comes to dealing with qualitatively new cases’; Grmek and Gourevitch (1985)24–5: ‘Le raisonnement seul peut déterminer le rapport entre les qualités d’un médicament et leursdegrés d’une part et les effets pharmacologiques d’autre part; le raisonnement seul peut prendre enconsidération la nature du malade, le stade de la maladie, la puissance du remède et le moment propiceà son administration pour arriver ainsi àladécouverte du traitement dont la valeur sera confirméepar l’épreuve clinique . . . La découverte des médicaments composés est, selon Galien, une affaire trèscomplexe, où le raisonnement joue un rôle important en guidant le travail du médecin sans éliminerpour autant la nécessité de la confirmation expérimentale.’ For general studies on Galen’s views onexperience see Debru (1991) and (1994) (with abundant bibliography), esp. 1750ff.; Fabricius (1972)36–51; Tieleman (1995) 32–4.9 The expression occurs in De alim. facult. 1.1.45 and 46 (CMG v4, 2, p.216.5and 14 Helmreich, 6.479 K.); 1.12.1 (CMG v4, 2, p.233.2–3 Helmreich, 6.508 K.); De meth. med.3.7 (10.204 K.); De simpl. med. fac. 3.13 (11.573 K.); 4.19 (11.685 K.); 4.23 (11.703 K.); 6.1 (11.800K.); 7.10 (12.38 K.). Slightly different formulations of the same idea (e.g. that should not beexecuted without ) can be found in De alim. facult. 1.1.7–8 (CMG v4, 2, p.204.3–5 and15 Helmreich, 6.457–8 K.); 1.1.43 (CMG v4, 2, p.215.18–20 Helmreich, 6.478 K.); 2.59 (CMG v4,2,p.323.8–9 Helmreich, 6.648 K.); De meth. med. 3.3 (10.181 K.); 3.7 (10.204 K.); De simpl. med. fac.3.6 (11.552 K.); 10.1 (12.246 K.). For occurrences of the notion in non-pharmacological contexts seeOn Critical Days (De diebus decretoriis, De diebus decr.) 2.2 (9.842–3 K.); 2.6 (9.872 K.); On Diagnosisof Pulses (De dignotione pulsuum, De dign. puls.) 2.2 (8.848–52 K.).