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The Greeks were the first to develop rational systems of medicine almost entirely free of magical and religious elements and based upon natural causes. The importance of this revolutionary innovation for the subsequent history of medicine cannot be stressed enough. Drawing upon the latest material discoveries and scholarship, James Longrigg describes the origin and development of rational medicine in ancient Greece and examines its complex relationship with philosophy down to the 3rd century B.C. Greek Rational Medicine examines the important relationship between philosophy and medicine in ancient Greece and beyond, revealing its significance for contemporary Western practice and theory.
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G R E E K RATI ONAL M E D I CI N E
Ratione vero opus est ipsi medicinae (Celsus, De medicina, Proem, 48)
G R E E K RATI O NAL MEDICINE Philosophy and medicine from Alcmaeon to the Alexandrians
James Longrigg
London and New York
First published 1993 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. © 1993 James Longrigg All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Longrigg, James Greek Rational Medicine: Philosophy and Medicine from Alcmaeon to the Alexandrians I. Title 610.1 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Longrigg, James Greek rational medicine: philosophy and medicine from Alcmaeon