The Medical Ethic Medicine as a Social Science by Russell Noblett, MD listen: To AUDIOBOOK Online read: Preface.pdf read: Full Manuscript.pdf buy: E-Book on Amazon.com buy: Full Book on Amazon.com buy: Full Book on Barnes & Noble Dr Russell Noblett, MD Noblett@Medkind.com Author's Introduction Video After graduating with honors in philosophy at North Texas University in 1982, Dr Noblett completed an MD degree at the University of Texas, and an internal medicine residency at the University of Virginia. He practiced hospital and geriatrics medicine for thirty years, serving as attending for the UVA internal medicine residency, as director of the Salem VAMC ER, and as VP of the Virginia Geriatrics Society. In 2000 he designed an online EMR for free clinics. An awarded physician, educator, and software designer, Dr Noblett describes in philosophical depth and technical detail the creative process of medical decision making and the humanistic foundation that it serves. This clarifies the relationship between the art and the science of medicine and establishes medicine as a social science that uses the physical sciences creatively for its deeper humanistic agenda - that the author calls the medical ethic.
Philosophical Synopsis of The Medical Ethic (Possibility Theory and Metaphor Induction) Individual consciousness is simply the universe manifesting awareness of itself through the agency of the evolved brain, and within its anthropic limitations. Perception of possibility is the fundamental level of consciousness created by the brain. It is the primal mode in which the universe perceives its own nature, deeper than actuality, and prior to its subsequent split into a "knowing subject" apart from a "known object" in the common theater of the mind. Through the creative application of metaphor to perceived possibility, it is grasped as an object for the subject in the mind. By the ensuing subject-object interaction, the common domain of possibility is actualized. This is the origin and goal of objective knowledge. Therefore, every objective formulation is an existential act of responsibility for perceived possibility. The doctor-patient relationship is an instance of this primal milieu and creative response. Perceived human possibility is grasped as an object, formulated first in the negative as "illness," for its intended actualization as "health," in terms of the clinical paradigms of each era. This creative aspect of medical decision making is described in The Medical Ethic.
Reviews "Dr Noblett takes on big questions, transcending the merely clinical, to explore what the practice of medicine means to physicians, to patients, and to society. What's the nature of medical decision making? Where do the medical arts fit within the context of social institutions and humanistic endeavors? Where within the scientific, technical, and intuitive skills of the practitioner does he or she find meaning? The author merges professional anecdotes with science and philosophy to weave a unified theory of medical ethics. The depth and breadth of Dr. Noblett's insights cannot be overstated. Recommended for current or aspiring physicians as well as anyone interested in the dynamics of modern healthcare." - Dale Hartley, PhD, professor of psychology "What does it mean to care for the patient? How does an evolved consciousness about care translate for the patient and for the community? We don't ask these question often enough in medical settings. With all that is happening in the world, it is refreshing to find a physician who has studied philosophy and practiced medicine long term. Such an orientation can speak eloquently and meaningfully to the most fundamental aspects of the doctor-patient relationship, which is what Dr. Noblett does in this challenging meditation. This is a book like no other." - Carmella Santorelli, author of Myth of the Fireflies