What a Physician should be; The Canon by Hippocrates.

Why might you read the Canon by Hippocrates?

The Canon is Hippocrates giving an overview of what he thinks a Physician should be. It also details what is necessary for training a Physician. As such it is the first text to give us an idea of how the medical profession was created. Hippocrates saw medicine as a science rather than as superstition. This is contrary to popular belief at the time.

It is on my Self Education list because it is foundational. This is because it shows us what Hippocrates thinks is necessary to make a good physician. This shows us the foundation that Hippocrates expects his readers to have. Which will be invaluable when we progress onto his other works. As well as what his entry requirements might have been for his school of medicine. As he started his own medical school.

Medical Symbol Vectors by Vecteezy

The content of the Canon

Hippocrates start with the state of the profession. This includes a great number of fraudulent Physicians. He puts this down to the lack of state oversight. He wants there to be more than ill repute for punishment for malpractice.

He then explains the temperament needed to be a Physician. As well as the attributes needed to be a good student of medicine. Thes range from quality education to prolonged industry.

He then uses the analogy of a plant to describe how a student is nurtured. This is a continuation of the previous ideas.

He states what will be created by the mixing of these things. Those things add up to a true Physician. He then states "Science and opinion are two different things; science is the father of knowledge but opinion breeds ignorance."

Finally, he states that a man needs to be unprofaned.

Reflections on the Canon

I find it interesting that Hippocrates wanted more state oversight. This could have been achieved with a professional body. That being said that may have not been possible in the early days of medicine. So maybe Hippocrates had the right idea.

It is interesting that he thinks the most important thing is the temperament of the person. He seems to rank this even above industries in study. Like I mentioned Hippocrates founded a medical school. I wonder if he used this to judge admissions.

The final paragraph he compares medicine to things that are holy. We know that Hippocrates was scientifically minded. Yet this holyness of medicine seems at odds with that. This suggests that Hippocrates was only referring to the way it is taught. That only the ones worthy are taught, rather than adding superstition to his teaching.

What others have to say about the Canon

From Encyclopedia.com ""The Law of Hippocrates" elaborates on the principles of the "Hippocratic Oath.""

The Canon is also called the Law in some sources. 

Comparisons with other texts

The only comparison to draw here is to the Hippocratic Oath. The quote above is evidently true. The Canon builds on the principles of the Oath. The Canon takes the ethical considerations of the Oath and applies them. This application gives a standard for training Physicians. It finds some Physicians falling short of this standard. It is still a stand-alone text and can be understood without the Oath. So each book has its place and they are quite different in execution. They also have very similar themes. Both texts are focused on what it is to be a good Physician. 

Conclusion

The Canon lays out what a good Physician is. It covers both the conduct and training of a Physician. I have speculated about the uses of the Canon. It could have been used for admissions into Hippocrates' school of medicine. I have discussed how Hippocrates sees science and the profession. And finally, we have looked at how it relates to the Oath. 

Have you read the Canon? If so what did you think of it? 
 
Want to read the Canon but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of the Canon for kindle or a physical copy. It is fairly short so you could read it online.