LETTER
Asklepios
Stephen L. Banks, MD
1 August 1996 | Volume 125 Issue 3 | Page 253
TO THE EDITOR:
Dr. Bailey [1] asserts in his recent article that western medical ethics originate largely from ancient Greece. He suggests that by understanding these origins we can understand the basis for our current medical ethics. I respectfully disagree.
As humans, we find that a rather curious law operates within our conscience. This law tells us that we should behave in a certain manner, whether or not it personally benefits us. It is not so much an impulse to do good as it is a standard by which we evaluate our impulses. The Greeks did not create this law. Their writings merely reflect the fact that they too recognized its presence.
Suggesting that we should study the ancient Greeks to understand the law of ethics is like suggesting we should study Isaac Newton to understand the laws of planetary motion. Newton did not create these laws. I must admit, however, that Newton could provide some rather timely insights. He said, "this most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being" [2].
In like manner, this most beautiful law we find written in our conscience could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of a righteous and just being. To learn more about the basis for our ethics, I would turn not to Greek mythology but to the Bible.
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Author and Article Information
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Shawnee Medical Center Clinic, Shawnee, OK 74801
1. Bailey J. Asklepios: ancient hero of medical caring. Ann Intern Med. 1996; 124:259-63.
2. Newton I. General scholium. In: Hutchins RM, ed. Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Great Books of The Western World Series. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
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