Humanizing Modern Medicine An Introductory Philosophy of Medicine
Philosophy and Medicine VOLUME 99 Founding Co-Editor Stuart F. Spicker
Senior Editor H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., Department of Philosophy, Rice University, and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
Associate Editor Lisa M. Rasmussen, Department of Philosophy, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina Editorial Board George J. Agich, Department of Philosophy, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio Nicholas Capaldi, College of Business Administration, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana Edmund Erde, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Stratford, New Jersey Christopher Tollefsen, Department of Philosophy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., President Loyola University, New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana
James A. Marcum
Humanizing Modern Medicine An Introductory Philosophy of Medicine
James A. Marcum Baylor University TX, USA
[email protected]
ISBN 978-1-4020-6796-9
e-ISBN 978-1-4020-6797-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008921930 © 2008 Springer Science + Business Media B.V. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com
Preface
Today, traditional medical knowledge and practice in the United States are modeled after and depend upon the biomedical sciences and the technology derived from them. Although the biomedical model is responsible for the “miracles” of modern medicine, it often leaves many patients disenfranchised with the American healthcare system. “In spite of remarkable advances in medical therapy and in development of fantastic diagnostic devices,” observes Franz Ingelfinger, “American society appears increasingly disenchanted with the physician” (1978, p. 9