Bearing the mark of pain: mystery in medicine
Abstract Dostoevsky wrote that love in action is a harsh and terrible thing compared to love in dreams. That reality is particularly evident in medicine, where there is an almost universal, involuntary participation of physicians and other healthcare workers in the suffering of their patients. This...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13010-023-00134-8 |
| _version_ | 1797822728493858816 |
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| author | Karel-Bart Celie John J. Paris |
| author_facet | Karel-Bart Celie John J. Paris |
| author_sort | Karel-Bart Celie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Dostoevsky wrote that love in action is a harsh and terrible thing compared to love in dreams. That reality is particularly evident in medicine, where there is an almost universal, involuntary participation of physicians and other healthcare workers in the suffering of their patients. This paper explores this phenomenon through the paradigm of ‘mystery’ as explained by the French existentialist philosopher Gabriel Marcel. A mystery is different from a problem in the sense that the former requires the active immersion of the person involved in order to be truly experienced. It is a ‘meta-problem’ that cannot be analyzed objectively and separately from the person that it affects, without changing the nature of the thing experienced. The authors contend that the human suffering encountered in medicine is one such phenomenon, and the paper draws on illustrations of this concept in art and literature. Awareness of the subtle but important difference between mystery and problem may help physicians better understand their personal entanglement with the suffering of patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:13:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-45c5c66e36bd47e38483fe3f6377636c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1747-5341 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:13:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-45c5c66e36bd47e38483fe3f6377636c2023-05-21T11:22:58ZengBMCPhilosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine1747-53412023-05-011811410.1186/s13010-023-00134-8Bearing the mark of pain: mystery in medicineKarel-Bart Celie0John J. Paris1Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los AngelesTheology Department, Boston CollegeAbstract Dostoevsky wrote that love in action is a harsh and terrible thing compared to love in dreams. That reality is particularly evident in medicine, where there is an almost universal, involuntary participation of physicians and other healthcare workers in the suffering of their patients. This paper explores this phenomenon through the paradigm of ‘mystery’ as explained by the French existentialist philosopher Gabriel Marcel. A mystery is different from a problem in the sense that the former requires the active immersion of the person involved in order to be truly experienced. It is a ‘meta-problem’ that cannot be analyzed objectively and separately from the person that it affects, without changing the nature of the thing experienced. The authors contend that the human suffering encountered in medicine is one such phenomenon, and the paper draws on illustrations of this concept in art and literature. Awareness of the subtle but important difference between mystery and problem may help physicians better understand their personal entanglement with the suffering of patients.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13010-023-00134-8PhilosophyMedical ethicsSufferingMysteryHealthcare |
| spellingShingle | Karel-Bart Celie John J. Paris Bearing the mark of pain: mystery in medicine Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine Philosophy Medical ethics Suffering Mystery Healthcare |
| title | Bearing the mark of pain: mystery in medicine |
| title_full | Bearing the mark of pain: mystery in medicine |
| title_fullStr | Bearing the mark of pain: mystery in medicine |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bearing the mark of pain: mystery in medicine |
| title_short | Bearing the mark of pain: mystery in medicine |
| title_sort | bearing the mark of pain mystery in medicine |
| topic | Philosophy Medical ethics Suffering Mystery Healthcare |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13010-023-00134-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT karelbartcelie bearingthemarkofpainmysteryinmedicine AT johnjparis bearingthemarkofpainmysteryinmedicine |