Galenic Medicine

To what extent was Galenic Medicine a part of the broader Aristotelian World View?

In this essay I will strive to show the extent upon which Galenic medicine was incorporated in to the predominantly Aristotelian world view, concluding that Aristotelian philosophies underpinned the majority of Galenic theories and concepts. To achieve this I will primarily demonstrate the perceived link between medicine and natural philosophy that existed at the time. I will continue with a description of the Aristotelian Form, Matter and Substance theories, which formed the basis for the Aristotelian world view. After considering the concepts that formed the Aristotelian philosophy, form, matter and substance, I will take a closer look at the Galenic theories. I aim to display how these Galenic principles relied on Aristotelian concepts and further how they were integrated into the broader world view. There was integration between medicine and natural philosophy from the earliest history of Greek science.[1] It was important for all medical students to study natural philosophy, as ‘logic provided the would-be-medical student with the major tool of medical scientific enquiry.’[2] From Hippocrates the term ‘Philosophical Physician’ developed and Galen suggested that ‘the best physician is also a philosopher’[3]. Physicians had to advise patients on how to live in harmony with nature. This was key to health, as both body and nature sought to balance together. The job of physicians within the Renaissance was as much to maintain the health of a patient in order to prevent illness, as it was to treat disease. This maintenance of health was achieved through regulations in diet, exercise, rest, balanced environmental conditions and the patients overall physiological well being.[4] This idea of balancing the body originally came from Hippocrates, who believed that everything could be cured by the application of reasoned remedies, drugs, surgery or dietary regulation. This

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