On the origins of illness and the hiddenness of health: A Hermeneutic approach to the history of a problem

Keane, Niall

Abstract

If health is definable as a dynamic equilibrium, then there needs to be some criterion for its re-establishment or restoration. For centuries this criterion has been identified as nature, a criterion which is not altogether unproblematic. It must be said that the adjectives “natural,” “artificial,” “willful,” and “reasonable” appear far more robust and malleable than the nouns from which they are derived, namely, “nature,” “art,” “will” and “reason.” If one examines these terms, it is striking that the term “natural” always contains a twofold significance.

• Online Publication Date: May 22, 2015
• Publication Date: Jun 9, 2015
• Deposit Date: Mar 23, 2023
• Publisher: Springer
• Pages: 57-72
• Series Title: Philosophy and Medicine (PHME, volume 120)
• Series ISSN: 0376-7418; 2215-0080
• Edition: 1st
• Book Title: Medicine and Society, New Perspectives in Continental Philosophy
• Chapter Number: 4
• ISBN: 9789401798693
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9870-9_4
• Keywords: Hermeneutics; illness; health
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10502306
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-017-9870-9_4