With Words and Knives

Learning Medical Dispassion in Early Modern England

Nonfiction, History
Cover of the book With Words and Knives by Lynda Payne, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lynda Payne ISBN: 9781134770090
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: February 11, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Lynda Payne
ISBN: 9781134770090
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: February 11, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

The practice of medicine in the days before the development of anaesthetics could often be a brutal and painful experience. Many procedures, especially those involving surgery, must have proved almost as distressing to the doctor as to the patient. Yet in order to cure, the medical practitioner was often required to inflict pain and the patient to endure it. Some level of detachment has always been required of the doctor and especially, of the surgeon. It is the construction of this detachment, or dispassion, in early modern England, with which this work is concerned. The book explores the idea of medical dispassion and shows how practitioners developed the intellectual, verbal and manual skill of being able to replace passion with equanimity and distance. As the skill of 'dispassion' became more widespread it was both enthusiastically promoted and vehemently attacked by scientific and literary writers throughout the early modern period. To explain why the practice was so controversial and aroused such furor, this study takes into account not only patterns of medical education and clinical practice but wider debates concerning social, philosophical and religious ideas.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The practice of medicine in the days before the development of anaesthetics could often be a brutal and painful experience. Many procedures, especially those involving surgery, must have proved almost as distressing to the doctor as to the patient. Yet in order to cure, the medical practitioner was often required to inflict pain and the patient to endure it. Some level of detachment has always been required of the doctor and especially, of the surgeon. It is the construction of this detachment, or dispassion, in early modern England, with which this work is concerned. The book explores the idea of medical dispassion and shows how practitioners developed the intellectual, verbal and manual skill of being able to replace passion with equanimity and distance. As the skill of 'dispassion' became more widespread it was both enthusiastically promoted and vehemently attacked by scientific and literary writers throughout the early modern period. To explain why the practice was so controversial and aroused such furor, this study takes into account not only patterns of medical education and clinical practice but wider debates concerning social, philosophical and religious ideas.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Masculinity in Contemporary Quality Television by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Reading Klein by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Environment and Citizenship by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Teaching Popular Culture by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Winslow Quiz Book by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book The Economic Organisation of a Financial System by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Travel and Ethics by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Entrepreneurship in the Informal Economy by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Privacy: Studies in Social and Cultural History by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Recognising and Supporting Able Children in Primary Schools by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Slavery and Abolition in the Atlantic World by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book A Philosophy of Management Accounting by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Antagonistic Tolerance by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Managing Teaching Assistants by Lynda Payne
Cover of the book Europe and Islam by Lynda Payne
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy