1. Religion and Healing II
April 15, 2005

2. 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?

3. Science and Reason Philosophical and social movement 1600-1700s
Rene Descartes (1600s)

4. Descartes Doubt : Knowledge Sense : Reason Certainty : Uncertainty
Outside : Inside
Imperfect : Perfect
Body : Mind

5. Descartes Thinking (doubting, reasoning) is happening I am doing it
Thinking stuff (mind); Bodily stuff (body)
“I think therefore I am”

6. Descartes Dualism Mind : Body Subject : Object
Subject/Object distinction makes objective science possible.

7. Medicine Body as machine Germ theory Proximate Causality Problems:
Mental Health
Stress
Addiction
Social contexts
Emotions

8. Medical Anthropology
Cultural, Ecological, Epidemiological perspectives
Disease vs. Illness
Illness (characterized by symptoms)
Susto
Disease (do not have symptoms)
High Blood Pressure

9. Health and Culture Bottle feeding in developing world
Poverty and Obesity
Birth control, disease and the church
Depression & anxiety in college

10. 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