The hermeneutics of medicine

pp. 119-175

in: Fredrik Svenaeus, The hermeneutics of medicine and the phenomenology of health, Berlin, Springer, 2000

Abstract

We have now reached the third and last step on our journey towards a philosophy of medical practice. The first two parts of this work could to a large extent be read as self-sufficient studies dealing with the history of medical practice, on the one hand, and the theory of health, on the other. Nevertheless, they have, of course, also been intended to prepare the ground for this third part, dealing with medicine and hermeneutics. In what follows I will consequently draw upon discussions carried out and conclusions reached in Parts 1 and 2, as I attempt to sketch the outlines of a plausible philosophical theory of medical practice.