Review of The Virtuous Physician
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Review of The Virtuous Physician
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Virtuous Physician" by Elliott B. Martin, Jr..]
One undeniable fact about The Virtuous Physician by Elliott B. Martin, Jr., is that it contains a ton of research that it could even pass as a textbook on the philosophical and ethical roots of medicine. The book is written through the lens of a historian, linguist, translator, writer, and cross-cultural critic. I would say the author does have a ton of achievements under his belt. The book offers a new translation of precepts, a pseudo-Hippocratic text from Hellenistic Greece, and its implications. The author suggests reforming medical ethics by tracing its roots back to ancient religious and philosophical traditions. The author also analyzes the modern medical field, noting the substantial absence of the physician scholar's rich, historically grounded role.
The book is packed with ancient philosophical knowledge detailing the supposed evolution of medicine. The book was written academically, but I found some sentences funny in a type of way. For example, at the beginning, the author describes how he and his mates were required to raise their hands and swear an oath at his graduation from medical school. The author describes this event this way: "At my graduation ceremony from medical school I, along with the rest of my class, raised my right hand and regurgitated, line by line as recited by the dean of some-such-or-other, some sort of 'oath', attributed to 'Hippocrates', in which we swore rather blandly to do 'this, that, and the other thing', or maybe it was not to do 'this, that, or the other thing'." I could picture him rambling these words. This was one of the aspects of the book that I loved. Another aspect that I loved was the editing of the book. I was relieved, and even grateful, that the book was excellently edited. The ideas were complex and fairly difficult to understand without proper knowledge of the discussed topics and a certain level of focus, and I was happy that errors were not something I had to worry about trying to decipher this book.
I do not appreciate that the author had to drag the Christian religion into his philosophical debate. However, I understand that he needed to explain how medicine has always been a branch of religion, as well as shamanism, and how it has supposedly evolved to become a thing of its own. Also, the manner in which the book was written made it hard to read. The book's target audience seems to be readers well-versed in classical studies or philosophy, and I say this because of the technical terms used. I also had a hard time reading the book because of how complex it was. I believe there must have been a simpler, more enjoyable, and more gripping way to present this book without it losing its value. Considering all aspects, I rate the book three out of five stars. The content is valid and educational, but it was difficult for me to read.
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The Virtuous Physician
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
One undeniable fact about The Virtuous Physician by Elliott B. Martin, Jr., is that it contains a ton of research that it could even pass as a textbook on the philosophical and ethical roots of medicine. The book is written through the lens of a historian, linguist, translator, writer, and cross-cultural critic. I would say the author does have a ton of achievements under his belt. The book offers a new translation of precepts, a pseudo-Hippocratic text from Hellenistic Greece, and its implications. The author suggests reforming medical ethics by tracing its roots back to ancient religious and philosophical traditions. The author also analyzes the modern medical field, noting the substantial absence of the physician scholar's rich, historically grounded role.
The book is packed with ancient philosophical knowledge detailing the supposed evolution of medicine. The book was written academically, but I found some sentences funny in a type of way. For example, at the beginning, the author describes how he and his mates were required to raise their hands and swear an oath at his graduation from medical school. The author describes this event this way: "At my graduation ceremony from medical school I, along with the rest of my class, raised my right hand and regurgitated, line by line as recited by the dean of some-such-or-other, some sort of 'oath', attributed to 'Hippocrates', in which we swore rather blandly to do 'this, that, and the other thing', or maybe it was not to do 'this, that, or the other thing'." I could picture him rambling these words. This was one of the aspects of the book that I loved. Another aspect that I loved was the editing of the book. I was relieved, and even grateful, that the book was excellently edited. The ideas were complex and fairly difficult to understand without proper knowledge of the discussed topics and a certain level of focus, and I was happy that errors were not something I had to worry about trying to decipher this book.
I do not appreciate that the author had to drag the Christian religion into his philosophical debate. However, I understand that he needed to explain how medicine has always been a branch of religion, as well as shamanism, and how it has supposedly evolved to become a thing of its own. Also, the manner in which the book was written made it hard to read. The book's target audience seems to be readers well-versed in classical studies or philosophy, and I say this because of the technical terms used. I also had a hard time reading the book because of how complex it was. I believe there must have been a simpler, more enjoyable, and more gripping way to present this book without it losing its value. Considering all aspects, I rate the book three out of five stars. The content is valid and educational, but it was difficult for me to read.
******
The Virtuous Physician
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Unlikely Righteousness by Tina Kowalski
