Reason and Medicine

Summary

 There is no such thing as Chinese, Hindu, Islamic or European physics or chemistry.  Why then are there distinct schools of medicine (Ayurvedic, Chinese, Unani, Homeopathic, etc.)? What has been the role of witchcraft in the history of healing? What has been the contribution of women in healing and medicine – in antiquity and in the modern world? Why has the materialist outlook been so important for the development of modern medicine? Why do other schools of medicine survive in the modern age? Is ancient Greek medicine the only heritage of modern medicine? What have been the Islamic contributions to science and medicine? What has been the political economy of medicine under capitalism? How did the development of capitalism lead to advances in medicine and health care? Why does medical research today pay great attention to diseases of the rich and of the developed countries than to diseases that affect the majority in developing countries? What is the role of pharmaceutical giants in making health care inaccessible? Why is the expansion of a universal public health care system so important? What constitutes medical ethics?

The reader will find answers to these and many other questions in a language that is lucid and friendly.