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This book is an introduction to the history of university-trained physicians from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. While considered elite (in reputation and rewards) and successful, we know little of their clinical effectiveness. To modern eyes their theory and practice often seems bizarre. But historical evidence reveals that they were judged on other criteria, and this book asserts that these physicians helped to construct and meet the expectations of society.
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This page intentionally left blank MED I C I N E B E FOR E SC I E N C E This book offers an introduction to the history of university-trained physicians from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. These were the elite, in reputation and rewards, and they were successful. Yet we can form little idea of their clinical effectiveness, and to modern eyes their theory and practice often seem bizarre. But the historical evidence is that they were judged on other criteria, and the argument of this book is that these physicians helped to construct the expectations of society – and met them accordingly. The main focus is on the European Latin tradition of medicine, reconstructed from ancient sources and relying heavily on natural philosophy for its explanatory power. This philosophy collapsed in the ‘scientific revolution’, and left the learned and rational doctor in crisis. The book concludes with an examination of how this crisis was met – or avoided – in different parts of Europe during the Enlightenment. Historiographically, the book is directed at how the technical content of traditional medicine can inform its social functions. ro g e r f re n c h was Lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Clare Hall. He taught in the universities of Leicester, Aberdeen and Cambridge, and for twenty years was Director of the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine at Cambridge. His publications include William Harvey’s Natural Philosophy (1994), Ancient Natural History (1994) and Gentile da Foligno and Scholasticism (2001). MED ICIN E BEFO RE S CIENCE The Business of Medicine from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment ROGER FRENCH Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge , United Kingdom Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521809771 © The estate of the late Roger French 2003 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2003 - - - - - - eBook (EBL) - - - eBook (EBL) - - - - - - hardback - - - hardback - - - - - - paperback - - - paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of s for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Contents Introduction page 1 part i: s o u rc e s 1 Hippocrates and the philosophers 2 Galen 9 34 part ii: t h e l at i n t r a d i t i o n 3 Medieval schools 59 4 Scholastic medicine 88 5 The weakening of the Latin tradition 127 part iii: the c r i s i s 6 The crisis of theory 157