Philosophical Writings

Author(s): Hemant Shah
Publisher: Academy of Philosophy

Page 60

.... 6 g ......... PHILOSOPHY AND MEDICINE : THE
INDIAN STANDPOINT
1. Introduction
It is important to know that Philosophy and Medicine are intimately connected with each other. Philosophy is the science of all sciences. Medicine is one of the important physical sciences that have been developed ever since ancient times, and is popularly known as Medical Science. Naturally, logically and inevitably, there must be a philosophy of medical science as well.
Instead of ignoring the speculations of the thinkers of the medical schools in Indian Philosophy, one should remember that “medicine, the most important of all the physical sciences, was directly and intimately connected with the Samkhya and Vaisesika and was probably the origin of the logical speculations subsequently codified in the Nyaya-Sutra":'
Before we talk about Philosophy and Medicine from the Indian standpoint, let us very briefly note the vital points revealing the essence of Philosophy and Medicine in the Western thought. In the western system of Medicine, the modern medicine or the Allopathy, has evolved through various stages before it has reached the present stage. Its beginning can perhaps be traced back to ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian medicine. By the fifth century BC, Hippocrates, reverently called the “Father of Medicine”, developed the theory of Four Humours and formulated the Oath for the practitioner. The next most eminent physician was Galen. He was Greek but he