An Hebraic Alternative to Mind-Body Dualism

Abstract

In this chapter, the author describes how medical care in the United States is based on a split perception of the nature of being human, which has led to institutionalized practices that inadvertently contribute to suffering. American biomedicine is also business-driven and turns both patients and their suffering into commodities. The origin of this approach to care can be seen as an outgrowth of a particular Western cultural perception based on ancient Greek philosophy, that of the so-called psyche-soma split, subsequently reified in Europe by Cartesianism. The author proposes that based on developments in modern physics, which reveal the natural order as based on electromagnetic states, in conjunction with holistic approaches to the human condition, an alternative basis for biomedicine could consist of the adoption of an already culturally amenable resource, that of the Old Testament as revealed in its linguistics. The implications for medical care would include recognizing the significance of relationship itself to healing for both patient and practitioner.