Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T15:18:11.602Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

8 - Philosophy of nature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2008

By
R. J. Hankinson
Edited by
R. J. Hankinson
R. J. Hankinson
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin
Get access

Summary

I use the term 'philosophy of nature' in a broad sense, to include most of the topics which would have belonged in the Hellenistic category of physics; because, although Galen was a physician rather than a physicist, he was far from being merely a doctor. Indeed, he considered it to be impossible to be a successful doctor without a thorough grounding in all of the then canonical branches of philosophy, namely logic, physics and ethics (see The Best Doctor is also a Philosopher [Opt.Med.] 1 53-63, = SM 2, 1-8). And this was no mere genuflection towards philosophy: this commitment is repeated, and its genuineness exemplified, on countless occasions throughout his works.

ELEMENTS, QUALITIES AND BODIES

Galen attributes the notion that proper medical practice requires serious physical knowledge to Hippocrates:

He thought that one should have a precise understanding of the nature of the body, saying that this was the source [or principle: archê] of the whole heory of medicine. (Opt.Med. I 54, = SM 2, 1,11–13)

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Galen , pp. 210 - 241
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×