An extended version of the lecture given by Howard Brody to mark the launch of the King’s College Centre for the Humanities and Health has just been published in the Journal of Medical Humanities. The abstract for Defining the Medical Humanities: Three Conceptions and Three Narratives is reproduced below:
The definition of ‘medical humanities’ may be approached via three conceptions—the humanities as a list of disciplines, as a program of moral development, and as a supportive friend. The conceptions are grounded by linking them to three narratives—respectively, the history of the modern liberal arts college; the history of Petrarch and the studia humanitatis of the early Renaissance; and the life of Sir William Osler. The three conceptions are complementary, each filling gaps in one or more of the others. Getting clearer on a definition of ‘medical humanities’ is practically important if this field is to take its rightful place within health professions education and practice.
Comments, questions, and suggestions for further reading welcome!