Two alternative notions of health.
Contemporary health care as well as medical ethics deal with the problem of priorities while the invariable priority of any treatment across all cultures remains health. Health as such is, however, rather a symbolic word which refers to two different paradigms coined in two ancient traditions which contributed profoundly to European culture as we know it: the two traditions referred hereto are the Hebraic and the Greek. The Greek tradition considered health as a good life, which is the utmost goal of human endeavor. To achieve this it was necessary to contemplate truth and to become acquainted with certainty (episteme) beyond any doubt. On the contrary a totally different approach can be found in the Hebraic tradition which referred particularly to faith grasped as the hope (tikva) being based on a reliance upon the future ahead. Modern medicine hesitates between these two notions of health.
Payne
J
J
Center for Bioethics, Institute of Medical Humanities, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
D003469:Culture; D018645:Greek World / Q000266:history*; D006262:Health; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007599:Judaism / Q000266:history*; D019359:Knowledge; D010686:Philosophy, Medical / Q000266:history*; D012660:Semantics