["An instrument of medical life": Henry E. Sigerist and the question "Why medical history?"].
Henry E. Sigerist's justification of what purpose the history of medicine might serve spans from his inaugural lecture in Zurich (1921) to the publication of his first volume of A History of Medicine in 1951. At first his line of argument followed the more traditional perception that knowledge of the history of medicine may not only offer theoretical insight, but also be of practical use to practitioners of medicine. However, subsequently he adopted a more general approach and in 1931 defined the history of medicine as being a part of the humanities, thus offering equal access to medical and scientific approaches. He also underlined the links between the history of medicine and other historical disciplines. In 1931 he declared that "the history of medicine is history" and "the history of medicine is medicine". By 1936 he referred to the subject as "an instrument of medical life" and in 1951 declared it to be "the compass that guides us into the future".
Kümmel
W F
WF
Medizinhistorisches Institut, Universitätsklinikum, D-55101 Mainz. wekuemme@mail.uni-mainz.de
D006663:Historiography; D049673:History, 20th Century; D013557:Switzerland