review of hermeneutics in medicine

ABSTRACT

The paper delves into hermeneutics, a subject in philosophy of medicine. First we have an overview on the history, definitions and categories of the theory. Next we discuss three viewpoints in this area, namely subjective, dialogic and holistic, which deal with different ways of interpreting a disease. A hermeneutics attitude to medicine aims to make a relation between modern medicine [having a particularistic point of view] and traditional medicine [having a holistic point of view] in order to achieve better diagnosis and treatment. There have been some efforts in the field carried out by scientists such as George Engel, who suggested bio- psycho- social model against bio-medical- model; nevertheless they are not complete enough. The most important downside of these alternate models is insufficient speed in diagnosis. Finally, we introduce Derrida's viewpoint which can be thought as a comprehensive eclectic view, covering all previous ones and a means to better interpretations in medicine. This study is interpreting review of the matter and consider to the great theoretical point of view. Our hypothesis tries to verify that using hermeneutics as a method in medicine will gradually lead us toward a systematic use of interdisciplinary sciences such as complementary medicine. The data collection method is by available studies done by domestic and foreign researchers. The hermeneutics approach in medicine, on the one hand, it shows different ways of interpreting a disease in theory forms and other it emphasize to place of philosophical comprehensive attitude and necessity use of interdisciplinary sciences in medicine because of two - dimensional human essence [body and soul]