Since the dawn of humanity we have been under attack from all angles. Tens of thousands of bacteria, virus’, fungi, nematodes and other organisms have found ways to attack our bodies and use the resources found on and in them for their own survival.
While we as a species have been fighting illness for as long as we have existed, what helped to develop our modern form of health care? This post will explore a euro-centric approach to early Greek health care and how it has influenced our modern medical system.
Prior to the wide spread adoption of philosophy and the physiocratic school of thought the prevailing belief around illness was that of supernatural cause and affect. It was the Greeks who started to make the link between the physical world, human interaction with that world and health outcomes. This revolution in thinking has been documented as early as the 6th century BCE. Once the thought around health changed from “things happen to me due to supernatural causes” to “the action I take upon the physical environment have direct health consequences to me” the ancient Greeks paved the way for a more in depth exploration of health and how to improve it.
The defining factor of health in ancient Greece was an individuals and communities diet. Diet did not refer simply to what someone would eat, but instead applied to their entire lifestyle. Doctors would need to consider the season, the winds, the amount of wine consumed, the water, the amount of exercise or hard work and many other factors when assessing health. While some of these factors seem strange to us now from a modern medical perspective others speak true to our current understanding of factors that affect health.
The above chart showcases the four fluids that ancient greeks associated with the body. Health was a balance between theses fluids while illness was seen as an imbalance in any one of them.
The current approach to health care is to promote healthy communities. By doing so we consider the environment in which a person lives and external factors when attempting to make a plan of care for them. This individualized look at health care is considered a new philosophy around health care. However, parts of this approach to care were practiced in ancient Greece. It is interesting to note that as many as 2600 years ago humans were learning that a healthy environment is a key factor in overall human health. After all this time it continues to be an area in which we can improve.
Resources
Yannis Tountas, The historical origins of the basic concepts of health promotion and education: the role of ancient Greek philosophy and medicine, Health Promotion International, Volume 24, Issue 2, June 2009, Pages 185–192, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dap006
Question:
What major or minor aspects of your environment do you feel can be altered to best improve your health?
Learning How To Care 