How Did Hippocrates Keep Away From Diseases?

Although populations in ancient societies suffered attacks, invasions, starvation, and persecution, there was a more efficient killer that exterminated countless people. The most dreaded killers in the ancient world were disease, infections and epidemics. In many major wars the main peril was not gunfire, nor assault, but the easily communicable diseases that rapidly wiped out whole divisions of closely quartered soldiers. Until the time of Hippocrates, in the struggle between life and death, it was, more often than not, death that prevailed when a malady was involved. In the modern world, although illness is still a concern, advances in thought and technique have led to the highest birth rates in recorded history. No longer is a fever a

Socrates demonstrates that Hippocrates ought to engage in philosophical inquiry, especially if he is to have such strong political ambitions. Socrates is engaging with Protagoras on behalf of Hippocrates. Protagoras is also addressing Hippocrates, and his counterparts, in making his claims about what he is able to teach. In this essay, I am concerned with reconstructing Socrates’ reasoning behind his conclusion that Hippocrates should not want to study under Protagoras. I will then offer an objection for Hippocrates, and finally from this, drawing a conclusion as to whether or not Hippocrates should pay to be a pupil of Protagoras.

“A physician who is a lover of wisdom is the equal of a g-d.”(Hippocrates) The Greeks valued medicine and thought highly of physicians, holding them to an incredibly high standard set by the best doctors, each with their own set of priorities. Hippocrates believed that the patient’s happiness and diet was the most important part of health, diagnosis, and treatment, and was admired for his ethics and morals. However, many disagreed with Hippocrates because he used new medicines and unique, unheard of techniques, including a healthy diet, which he believed to be the most important aspect of health. This differed from others view, because medicines were thought very highly of, but he only used medicine as a last resort, and first attempted

Medieval medicine was rooted in Ancient Greek practices. In 65 A.D., a Greek writer, Discorides, wrote a book, Material Medica. The book is about medical use of over five-hundred different plants. The book is translated into Hebrew and Arabic. Doctors in the Early Modern Era knew very little, and they used plants as the most important care and/or treatment. Due to unsanitary places and tools, many different diseases spread around Europe. Life was challenging during the Early Modern Era because of many diseases(Alchin). During the 1500s- 1600s, diseases overtook many people because doctors knew little, medicine was unknown, and there were many causes.

The passage On the Sacred Disease, is an examination into the alleged 'sacred disease' of epilepsy. Although many of the anatomic and bodily propositions were incorrect, Hippocrates concepts were closer to the diagnostics and teachings of today than those of metaphysical reasoning. For these reasons, On the Sacred Disease provided a structural understanding of diseases in our bodies today.

The Importance of Hippocrates in Medicine Hippocrates was a Greek doctor. Born in Cos around 460BC, Hippocrates was the most famous of Greek doctors. He wrote medical books which have helped improve medical information and remedies. Hippocrates created the Hippocratic Oath, where

The bio-medical model of ill health has been at the forefront of western medicine since the end of the eighteenth century and grew stronger with the progress in modern science. This model underpinned the medical training of doctors. Traditionally medicine had relied on folk remedies passed down from generations and ill health was surrounded in superstition and religious lore with sin and evil spirits as the culprit and root of ill health. The emergence of scientific thinking questioned the traditional religious view of the world and is linked to the progress in medical practice and the rise of the biomedical model. Social and historical events and circumstances were an important factor in its development as explanations about disease

Throughout history until the 19th century, infectious diseases, epidemics, and pandemics were thought to be the manifestation of supernatural forces and little to nothing was truly effective in preventing or treating these devastating threats to society. It was only during the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment that the long-accepted realities of society were questioned and research was conducted based on science and reason that would forever change the world we live in (Kumar, 2007). The science of epidemiology was founded by John Snow’s identification of polluted public water well as the source of an 1854 cholera outbreak in London. Shortly thereafter germ theory began to emerge and science took off.

Although most disease struck the poorest, the upper class was not fully immune. Because people wanted to move to cities to make their lives better, they were forced to live around these diseases without proper means for prevention, protection, and recovery. Once contracting the disease, they would either die within hours or suffer from uncontrollable diarrhea and pain. In addition, scientific knowledge on disease was not as developed as it fortunately is today. Doctors had not yet learned the concept of a germ theory and instead associated the disease with the “bad air” that surrounded toxic, polluted cities. This “bad air” was known as miasa and was incorrectly used to explain the spread of cholera in major cities during the mid 1800s. After studies and research, doctors noticed that there was a heavy concentration of miasmata near certain rivers, but they still connected it to a lack of air quality in bustling cities such as Manchester, London, and Paris. Although air pollution and coal emissions did play a role in certain illnesses, they were not the main cause for diseases such as cholera. Poor ventilation, dirty homes, malnourishment, and no access to clean water made people easily susceptible to a ruthless disease like cholera. Moreover, causes of cholera were investigated more thoroughly after John Snow’s theory claimed that cholera was spread through the water John Snow was an English physician who is today considered one of the fathers of modern epidemiology, the branch of medicine that deals with the distribution and control of diseases relating to health. Finally, doctors could see cholera in a new light and were able to find better means of protection and prevention for its victims. Today, doctors recognize the germ theory of disease which states that some diseases are caused by microorganisms, and not just by “bad

During Ancient times, cure and prevention of illness and disease were not very well developed – people would blame their ill health on Gods, witches, demons or other supernatural causes. They had many theories, such as God punishing them for their sins.

For this period any understanding of bacteria was astoundingly advanced. The knowledge of Ancient Egyptians began to pave the way to other developing societies and where we stand today. Their achievements of human body and ailments even made the greeks envious and they soon began taking egyptian knowledge into their own hands. The Greeks like the egyptians were very serious about their religious practices. Priest in ancient greece were trained in simple surgery and herbal remedies. Ancient philosopher named Hippocrates discovered an idea that was quite radical at that time. Built on the idea that the egyptians started, he predicted that perhaps illness may not only be caused by the gods but also for natural reasons. Hippocrates titles this the theory of the four humors which focused on the body consisting of four liquids; blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm. If these four humor were in balance you were healthy and if they were out of balance you were sick and needed to be treated accordingly. The idea of the gods not being the reason for everything was revolutionary in the fact that now societies could be examining topics in a more scientific

Diseases can cause a devastating effect on both the human body, and also the human population. Throughout several time periods of the present and past, diseases have caused a humongous impact in several society's in different countries around the world. Several large pandemics and epidemics have killed off the population of many species including humans and primates. Wether the time period is in the present or as far back as the Middle Ages, each and every one of these diseases, have had a life threatening outbreak, across several developing countries. Three known diseases have all created a huge conflict on different civilizations, causing different, unanswered questions to arise. A lot of research has gone into each individual disease, to

Because of the medical treatment and technology people had during the Middle Ages, doctors had no clue on how to fight off the disease (Ibeji p7). Everything doctors did was either unsanitary, dangerous, or both. These techniques included rosewater or vinegar baths, burning

While others, were only effected by direct contact. It was thought to have been sustainable by even touching clothing or other such items of the infected. Conditions of the fourteenth century were also a contributing factor. Famine had been an arising issue due to the number of overpopulation. Because of this, their immune systems began to weaken. “Europeans were susceptible to disease because many people lived in crowded surroundings in an era when personal hygiene was not considered important” (Dowling). The cities were unsanitary and littered with germs, making it easier to sustain such diseases. Unhealthy habits were conducted and medical advances had not yet been made. Doctors themselves had not known what to advise. No prescriptions had worked. There was no cure to what was happening. Most were not even aware of what was impending upon them. Anything that could would be tried, in hopes of living. People were becoming desperate.

Before medicine was like it is today there was a much higher fatality rate after getting sick. It didn’t really matter what you got sick with considering treatment was not a very common thing in the 1200’s. Most women died during or after child birth due to the lack of sanitation. There were no cough drops for when people had a sore throat. Things such as the flu would cause death much more frequently just because there was very limited treatment for it in a world where blood circulation was a newfound discovery. One of the restrictions on past medicine is the elements used being readily available. Obviously it wasn’t as easy to get access to things such as magnesium back then as it is today. That fact alone would limit the growth of medicine for some time. But as chemists began making discoveries other fields of science grew as well.