The Empathetic Basis and Shared Foundation of the Human Person for Religion and Medicine
Mariana Cuceu, MD, PhD(c), Affiliate Program on Medicine and Religion, The University of Chicago, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Gr. T. Popa" Iasi
Cristinel Stefanescu, MD, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Gr. T. Popa" Iasi
Ricardo Moreno – Parish Vitality Coordinator, Archdiocese of Chicago
On what basis can medicine and religion engage one another and do medicine and religion share foundations on which they can build and work together? We will approach these two deeply connected questions by looking at how the human person is seen through the religious traditions of Judaism and Christianity in their Biblical roots and then by comparison with the medical tradition particularly found in the Greek thinker Hippocrates and his Hippocratic Oath. The human person is at the center of both the religious traditions of Judaism and Christianity and the medical tradition found in the so called father of western medicine. The human person and their lives and livelihood are expressed within in each tradition as good. Our analysis and presentation will focus on this livelihood of shared, communal, and socially cooperative goodness.
We will look at the biblical understanding of humanity as created in the image and likeness of God and declared by God as very good. The goodness of creation especially found in its fullness and uniqueness in humanity will be explored through the biblical foundations. Two contemporary interpretations of these biblical foundations will be given. One will be found in the modern Jewish thinker Emmanuel Levinas and his understanding of the human person. The other interpretation will be one from a contemporary Orthodox Christian perspective found in the living tradition of the Patristic Fathers and in particular the contemporary thinker who embodies such a tradition and practice, Dr. Jean Claude Larchet.
We will then look very carefully at the Hippocratic Oath, as its formulation deeply defines certain intentions and ways of understanding the human person and how we should approach them in a societal context of care and practices of healing. The implications of this oath as a foundation of how the human person will be addressed and understood as good and given a certain character of responsibility through its formulation. We will also explore the nature of “oath taking” which it is a performative action that forms the person taking it in particular relation to his fellow person. An oath of just this type builds the very blocks of our communities and society.
In conclusion an argument pertinent to the contemporary medical practices will be given. This analysis will demonstrate that within these various ways of understanding and defining the human person there is a commonality. A particular responsibility to be sensitive and responsive is clearly and commonly seen in these sources. What is this shared livelihood and responsiveness defined by or rooted in? It is in this question that we will produce an argument for what is known as empathy and the various ways it can be understood and practiced. At the center of both the religious foundation and the medical foundation is arguably an implicit reality of humanity as a community of empathy. It is on this basis that religion and medicine can deeply engage one another.
Cristinel Stefanescu, MD, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Gr. T. Popa" Iasi
Ricardo Moreno – Parish Vitality Coordinator, Archdiocese of Chicago
On what basis can medicine and religion engage one another and do medicine and religion share foundations on which they can build and work together? We will approach these two deeply connected questions by looking at how the human person is seen through the religious traditions of Judaism and Christianity in their Biblical roots and then by comparison with the medical tradition particularly found in the Greek thinker Hippocrates and his Hippocratic Oath. The human person is at the center of both the religious traditions of Judaism and Christianity and the medical tradition found in the so called father of western medicine. The human person and their lives and livelihood are expressed within in each tradition as good. Our analysis and presentation will focus on this livelihood of shared, communal, and socially cooperative goodness.
We will look at the biblical understanding of humanity as created in the image and likeness of God and declared by God as very good. The goodness of creation especially found in its fullness and uniqueness in humanity will be explored through the biblical foundations. Two contemporary interpretations of these biblical foundations will be given. One will be found in the modern Jewish thinker Emmanuel Levinas and his understanding of the human person. The other interpretation will be one from a contemporary Orthodox Christian perspective found in the living tradition of the Patristic Fathers and in particular the contemporary thinker who embodies such a tradition and practice, Dr. Jean Claude Larchet.
We will then look very carefully at the Hippocratic Oath, as its formulation deeply defines certain intentions and ways of understanding the human person and how we should approach them in a societal context of care and practices of healing. The implications of this oath as a foundation of how the human person will be addressed and understood as good and given a certain character of responsibility through its formulation. We will also explore the nature of “oath taking” which it is a performative action that forms the person taking it in particular relation to his fellow person. An oath of just this type builds the very blocks of our communities and society.
In conclusion an argument pertinent to the contemporary medical practices will be given. This analysis will demonstrate that within these various ways of understanding and defining the human person there is a commonality. A particular responsibility to be sensitive and responsive is clearly and commonly seen in these sources. What is this shared livelihood and responsiveness defined by or rooted in? It is in this question that we will produce an argument for what is known as empathy and the various ways it can be understood and practiced. At the center of both the religious foundation and the medical foundation is arguably an implicit reality of humanity as a community of empathy. It is on this basis that religion and medicine can deeply engage one another.