Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

It is commonly assumed that the science of medicine should lead to an understanding of sick persons. Not so. Medical science is reductionist—it bypasses human beings as persons to get at their parts. Over time, medical science has focused on smaller and smaller human parts and processes. Medical scientists investigating the human genome now alarmingly call this “personalized” medicine. Formal medical education conveys very little about persons. Persons are innately historical and have an innate aesthetic sense. Persons use language and tell stories. Persons always pursue meaning. Not surprisingly, these are the domains of the humanities. Thus, the reason the study of the humanities is the road to knowledge about persons is that persons see the world the same way as the humanities. Dr. William Osler famously described science and the humanities as “twin berries on one stem” going on to say that “grievous damage has been done to both in regarding [them]… in any other light than complemental.” For physicians, the proper route to knowledge of humans is through the humanities, not science. The Medical Humanities Program at Baylor University teaches philosophy (ethics, logic and thinking), literature (including poetry), history, art, and other fields within the humanities to prehealth students. This paper explores the indispensable role of the humanities as a foundation for those working in and around healthcare–for students and scholars, for patients and practitioners, and for the culture at large.