Enlightenment Medicine Flashcards
Characteristics of the Enlightenment
1600s to 1780s
Belief in progress through technology/science
Power of reason (Kant- ‘dare to be wise’)
Rejection of social and theological constraints
Jeremy Bentham - utilitarianism
Idea of liberty as a right
Medicine: belief of health as a ‘good’ to be maintained, idea that ill health could be eradicated
Camerialism - science of administration
Economic and military interest in public health
Why is it called the ‘Age of Medical Systems’?
Wish to understand health based on scientific laws/systems
Were advances made?
Often same therapies but with new systems to explain
Boerhaarve (late 1600s)
Theorised that diseases arose from blocked/friction in blood vessels - justified treatment of bloodletting
Hoffman (late 1600s)
Thought tension in body’s fibres maintained health - justifying idea of balance (Hippocratic)
Stahl (late 1600s-early 1700s)
Argued that illness was caused by disruption of balance; therapy was to enable soul to make compensatory changes (drugs e.g. opium)
What was Sydenham’s contribution? (mid-1600s)
Nosology - objective classification of disease (based on botanical classification)
Written in Latin - inaccessible
Classification developed need to study larger data collections before generalisations could be applied
But also showed need for these generalised categories - for application to public health?
What were the features of Enlightenment medicalisation of the population?
Extension of healthcare from upper to lower classes; health as political issue (economic and military)
Systems to aid public health; cradle to grave paternalistic approach to medicine
Johann Frank’s Complete System of Medical Police (late 1700s-early 1800s)
Johann Frank
Complete System of Medical Police - suggested policies for public health
Public sanitation, water supply, prostitution, maternal and child welfar
What changes occurred in childcare/maternal healthcare?
Males took interest in midwifery - became a valid study for doctors, improving healthcare
Lying-in hospitals introduced
Infant care developed as a speciality - London Foundling Hopsital 1741
How many new hospitals were there in 1800s London?
5
How did capitalist interests affect hospitals?
Need to keep workforce healthy spurred on development of hospitals
Admission ticket system - need for sponsor (e.g. boss)
What were health manuals?
Written by doctors for laypersons - in vernacular - reflecting Enlightenment idea of improvement through knowledge/education
E.g. Behrnard Faust’s Catechism on Health
Intended to fight against ‘quacks’ - thus also served doctoral interests
What did smallpox cause in the C18th?
10% of all deaths
Which famous figure helped to spread smallpox inoculation’s popularity?
Lady Mary Montague - got her children inoculated
