Religion and Healing II April 15, 2005
Religion and Healing Our society is unique in separating healing from religion Our society is unique in separating bodily healing from social healing Why are we different?
Science and Reason Philosophical and social movement 1600-1700s Rene Descartes (1600s)
Descartes Doubt : Knowledge Sense : Reason Certainty : Uncertainty Outside : Inside Imperfect : Perfect Body : Mind
Descartes Thinking (doubting, reasoning) is happening I am doing it Thinking stuff (mind); Bodily stuff (body) “I think therefore I am”
Descartes Dualism Mind : Body Subject : Object Subject/Object distinction makes objective science possible.
Medicine Body as machine Germ theory Proximate Causality Problems: Mental Health Stress Addiction Social contexts Emotions
Medical Anthropology Cultural, Ecological, Epidemiological perspectives Disease vs. Illness Illness (characterized by symptoms) Susto Disease (do not have symptoms) High Blood Pressure
Health and Culture Bottle feeding in developing world Poverty and Obesity Birth control, disease and the church Depression & anxiety in college
Science is itself a worldview Moral landscape Randomness is a statement of faith Moral landscape Establishing right and wrong in complicated social contexts Vodou Moral system Based on responsible relationships