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Toward a Romantic Science: The Work of Oliver Sacks

1988; American College of Physicians; Volume: 109; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.7326/0003-4819-109-5-440

1539-3704

Alan G. Wasserstein,

Mental Health and Psychiatry

The Literature of Medicine1 September 1988Toward a Romantic Science: The Work of Oliver SacksAlan G. Wasserstein, MDAlan G. Wasserstein, MDSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-109-5-440 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptMedicine is the oldest of the arts and the oldest of the sciences, writes neurologist Oliver Sacks. But the growth of the science has threatened the art. There is a subtle opposition between the two faces of medicine: The science (generalizing) fits the patient into broad categories; the art (personalizing) recognizes the patient as unique. With the increasingly scientific emphasis in medicine today, the empathy and humaneness of the personal encounter begin to seem difficult, if not supererogatory. They are moral, rather than scientific obligations, and, possibly the first casualties of a hectic schedule.But what if they were essential...References1. Sacks O. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. Harper and Row: New York; 1987. Google Scholar2. Eliot T. Selected Essays. Harcourt Brace: New York; 1960. Google Scholar3. Sacks O. Awakenings. E.P. Dutton: New York; 1983. Google Scholar4. Luria A. The Man with a Shattered World. Harvard University Press: Cambridge; 1987. Google Scholar5. Rieff P. Freud: The Mind of the Moralist. University of Chicago Press: Chicago; 1979. Google Scholar6. Sacks O. A Leg to Stand On. Summit: New York; 1984. Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the current author address, see end of text. Previousarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByOliver Sacks and migraineMultiplicity and Dialogue in Social Psychology: An Essay in MetatheorizingTalking about the pain: A patient-centered study of low back pain in primary careWhole person care: Beyond psychosocial and physical needsThe Database: Its Definition and Present StatusAnecdote and objectivity 1 September 1988Volume 109, Issue 5Page: 440-444 Issue Published: 1 September 1988 PDF DownloadLoading ...