History meets cognition: The Asclepius cult as a pattern of practice Historical research has traced the origins of the Asclepius cult and has explored its development and geographical expansion from the fifth century BCE, when it was established as an organized religious institution in Epidaurus,. Historians have further studied the development of the Epidaurian sanctuary into the most significant asclepeion and the influences it exerted on the establishment of Asclepius temples in other Greek cities as well as on the competitions between these cities seeking to promote their reputation as Asclepius cult centers. Particular attention has been payed to the institutional organization of the local sanctuaries, the topographies, architectural …show more content…
Individual appropriations of the available healing alternatives mediated the formation and continual development and transformation of both Hippocratic medicine and the Asclepius cult as dynamic patterns of practice (Roepstorff et al. 2010). Such patterns of practice develop through incessant interactions between people and their external social, material, symbolic and intellectual surroundings. These interactions further affect individual perceptions, beliefs and actions as well as the development of formal cultural institutions. The bodily presence of human agents within specific surroundings is a prerequisite for the interactions and appropriations to take place. Thereby derives that humans in addition of being embodied are deeply encultured entities. But again, the bodily presence of humans in cultural contexts is not enough for interacting, affecting and being affected by the perceptions, ideas, beliefs and normative orders flowing in their surroundings. These mental processes and interactions presupposed that humans share the same cognitive abilities and proclivities that make communication, action and interaction possible (see Geertz 2010). Hence, apart from being embodied and encultured humans are also embrained entities, and every approach to human experiences which precludes one of these three dimensions can only be
The only logical conclusion to derive from this observation is that what we consider to be ourselves is not our bodies. As a result, an individual’s personal identity cannot be rooted in just his or her body, unlike what body theorists would like to
The main characters, the Hmongs, are a culture of refugee families that supported CIA efforts in Laos. Their culture embeds deep spirituality into its health care, by the doctors of the Merced County hospital. The notion that herbs were strictly to heal the spirit was of course a source of contention for the physicians of the hospital, though nurses might feel that the symbolic effect alone is worth seizing. In other words, whether the physicians ...
pp. 41-84. Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks, Calif. Pigg, Stacy Leigh. (1997) "Found in Most Traditional Societies: Traditional Medical Practitioners between Culture and Development.”
Twenty four centuries ago, Hippocrates created the profession of medicine, for the first time in human history separating and refining the art of healing from primitive superstitions and religious rituals. His famous Oath forged medicine into what the Greeks called a technik, a craft requiring the entire person of the craftsman, an art that, according to Socrates in his dialogue Gorgias, involved virtue in the soul and spirit as well as the hands and brain. Yet Hippocrates made medicine more than a craft; he infused it with an intrinsic moral quality, creating a “union of medical skill and the integrity of the person [physician]” (Cameron, 2001).
In all societies, the practices associated with religion, burial and death have given archaeology and history detailed information concerning the nature of a society. It is through the study of symbology in particular that we are able to discern the significance of the Minoan religion as it represents various aspects of their religious beliefs and display the impact it has on their everyday lives. Key symbols like the birds, bulls, horns of consecration and double axe can be seen throughout the island of Crete as well as on votive offerings given to their gods from their worshippers.
This book is about the human mind and the abstractness of our visions and memories. Everything affects us physically and mentally. We all share a common feature; we are all simply human with simple human minds.
Gibson, J. J. (1977). The theory of affordances. In R. E. Shaw & J. Bransford (Eds.), Perceiving, acting, and knowing: Toward an ecological psychology (pp. 67–82). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Medicine men utilize the use of herbs, ceremony, song, stories and prayer to treat each person individually. Medicine men’s healing beliefs advocates a personalized treatment plan for each individual’s unique health problems. Consequently The medicine man is unswervingly devoted to his calling for his entire life, both publicly and privately. Frequently he fasted and his thoughts would reflect upon the supernatural. Publicly his duties were numerous and onerous; dedicated children to the Great Spirit, carried out the setting up of the chief, conferred military honors on the warrior, held leadership positions for war, enforced orders, appointed officers for the buffalo hunts, and when planting the maize he decided on the time to plant.
Kleinman, Arthur M. “What Kind of Model for the Anthropology of Medical Systems?” American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 80, No. 3 (Sep, 1978), pp. 661-665.
In today’s society, the mind is a set of cognitive elements which enable an individual’s consciousness, perception, thinking, judgement, and memory. In addition, without our minds and/or conscious experiences, a person would not be able to understand what makes them who they are. Similarly, in Thomas Nagel’s essay “What Is It Like to Be a Bat,” Nagel claims that even though there is something it is like to be an organism, humans are not capable of fully knowing what it is like to be a bat. In addition, Nagel supports his claims through the importance of an organism’s conscious experiences, memories, and knowledge, which allow an individual to identify themselves. Therefore, in this paper I will discuss Nagel’s argument, which I believe to be true, based on the idea that human beings do not have the ability to understand and/or know what it is like to be another organism without having the same conscious experiences as one another.
The objective mind takes cognizance of the objective world. Its media of observation are the five senses. It is the out growth of man’s physical nece...
This paper aims to endorse physicalism over dualism by means of Smart’s concept of identity theory. Smart’s article Sensations and the Brain provides a strong argument for identity theory and accounts for many of it primary objections. Here I plan to first discuss the main arguments for physicalism over dualism, then more specific arguments for identity theory, and finish with further criticisms of identity theory.
Throughout history, explanations for mental illness have been described as supernatural, psychological, and biological. Prior to the early Greek physicians, the supernatural model of mental illness prevailed. Early humans did not have science to explain natural events so magic, mysticism, and superstition were used as a substitution. They believed in animism, the idea that all of nature is alive, and anthropomorphism, the tendency to project human features onto nature. Reification was also a popular belief that assumed if you can think of something, it exists. Sympathetic magic was the idea that one can heal and individual by influencing an object that is similar or closely associated to them (Frazer, 1890/1963). Primitive healers would often imitate the patient's ailments and then model the recovery. Reification also lead to the bel...
Throughout our history, cults have become a prevalent part of our society. More and more cults are forming every day. Although not all of them are dangerous, some can perform practices that are toxic to their members. Cults use fear and control to gain more and more members. Once members join a cult, they are forced to perform the practices that the cult leaders require. It is through these practices that cult leaders convince their members to stay in the cult. Through mind control and scare tactics, cults have become a very powerful and dangerous part of our society.
It is apparent that we are personified entities, but also, that we embrace “more” than just our bodies. “Human persons are physical, embodied beings and an important feature of God’s intended design for human life” (Cortez, 70). But, “human persons have an ‘inner’ dimension that is just as important as the ‘outer’ embodiment” (Cortez, 71). The “inner” element cannot be wholly explained by the “outer” embodiment, but it does give rise to inimitable facets of the human mental life such as human dignity and personal identity.