Continuity in the views of Hippocrates and Galen on the nature of the human body
Keywords:
Galen, Hippocrates, Homoeomeries, norm, pathology, proportionalityAbstract
The essay "In Hippocratis de natura hominis librum commentarii III" helps clarify Galen's views on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Using this work as an example, medical historians gain a clear picture of the succession of Hippocrates' ideas in Galenic medicine. This work sheds light on Galen's views regarding the physical nature of the human body: according to Galen, a person's condition is determined by the balance of the four main fluids, and the physical foundation of living creatures consists of four primary elements. These primary elements are in constant interaction with each other, forming a combination that leads to one's state of health or disease.
Hippocrates' ideas on general pathology, which Galen further developed, provided a rational explanation for a variety of human diseases. Summarizing Hippocrates' views, Galen emphasizes that a proper understanding of the compliance or violation of the balance of the primary elements in the human body is impossible without explaining these processes in light of the microstructure of human tissue, as understood through the doctrine of homoeomeries. The key to understanding the principles of disease treatment, according to Galen, lies in the idea of "proportionality" of all vital processes occurring in the human body. It is extremely important to relate Galen's ideas of universals, established by Aristotle, with the origins and properties of human nature.
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