Reviews for The new medicine and the old ethics

The average rating for The new medicine and the old ethics based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-04-26 00:00:00 Laurent Chapu This book raises some vital points about the important of physicians treating people rather than just their bodies or the diseases they have, and interesting philosophical discussions of suffering. The summary of the history of medicine and of medical philosophy is also excellent, and there are lots of patient stories that make it clear the author is a dedicated and caring physician. But not all of the author's philosophical discussions are well explained, he seems to particularly disagree with the approaches of psychologists to making medical decisions, and he takes some little digs at people opposed to abortion and assisted suicide that didn't really seem warranted by the rest of the discussions in which they appeared. Also, the writing ' or more so, the copy editing ' was surprisingly sloppy in a couple of chapters. So it was a good and thought-provoking book, with lots of good suggestions for further reading, but it wasn't as great as the recommendation I'd gotten had suggested.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-07-10 00:00:00 Lawrence Crowley This book articulates important and enduring concepts for the practice of medicine. Most of all, it challenges the "either/or" paradigm in which the science of medicine roundly trumps the art of medicine by offering a robust defense of a "both/and" paradigm with the patient at the center of practice. It reminds clinicians of the noble goals with which we entered medicine, and enriches our understanding of what those goals mean. Although Cassell illustrates his analysis with lots of stories, at times it is quite thick with abstract concepts. Nonetheless, he states them clearly and provides ample opportunity to digest them. I have read few better discussions of personhood, the threat of illness to personhood, the difference between illness and disease, and why medicine should aim above all to treat illness, promote function, and relieve suffering.