Most people believe that health is a condition of the body, in which only the organism is involved. Nevertheless, Western medicine has slowly been accepting that there are different components that make up a healthy person. J. L. Scully, in his article “What is a disease?”, discusses how to conceptualized human maladies in a way that is different than from what people generally believe. He relates disease to suffering, different cultures and the various aspects of the human experience.
Basically, Scully believes that disease should be associated to suffering, both mental and corporal. He states, “What ought to concern us about disease and disability is the disadvantage, pain or suffering involved” (Scully, 2004, p. 653). As one can see, this differs from the common definition of a malfunctioning of the body. The article also references that disease may be determined according to the culture. Finally, he also warns that another reason why it is important to define disease is that medical doctors may intervene in many areas of the human experience, including moral and ethical ones.
In conclusion, Scully argues the importance of adequately defining disease in an attempt to help medical doctors correctly go through with their practice. Even though many people believe that this is just a corporal malady, Scully states that it should be related to human suffering, disadvantage and pain in all spheres of one’s life. Furthermore, it is important to take the patient’s culture into account, as disease depends on social factors as well. Therefore, doctors must be very careful in their interventions due to the fact that they may have very important and negative ramifications. This interesting article poses important philosophical considerations for the medical practice.
Reference List
Scully, J. L. (2004). “What is a disease?: Disease, disability and their definitions.” Science and Society, 5(7), 650-653.
