Science and modern medicine have many commonalities, one being that the ideas currently accepted are merited on past teachings and lessons. These ideas were once theories that have been tested and therefore have either been accepted or denied based on observation. The idea that treatments in medicine, and other fields concerning the sciences, can be accepted is because of trial and error from those in the past. Primarily, medical advancements have all stemmed from techniques and observations of the past, especially from the Greeks during the 5th century B.C. One of the most famous physicians is Hippocrates. Considered to be the “father of medicine” and the first real physician, Hippocrates separated medicine from philosophy, as well as treating patients as efficiently as possible and taking the proper notes in order to continue his work, which set the precedent of the creation of written treatises.
Hippocrates was born around the year of 460 B.C. on the island of Cos, near the Ionian coast of Asia Minor. He was born of Heraclides, who was also a physician and was considered to be the first person who taught Hippocrates about medicine. According to the people of his time, he was semi-divine because his ancestry traced back to Hercules. This was believed to be one of the reasons that he was able to heal people and was such a successful physician. At a young age, he left his native island of Cos and went to exercise his talents in a wider sphere. This was what he believed would allow him to learn more about medicine and different techniques. The first place he went to was Athens where he was taught by Gorgias of Leontini and Herodicus of Selymbia. Shortly after his teachings, he practiced his newfound knowledge on the island of Thesos, Abdera and other towns of Thessaly. When he became more adept at his craft, he moved to farther parts of the world, such as the Black Sea, Asia Minor, and even Egypt. He was highly praised by other nations, such as Persia but felt strong patriotism towards Greece which made him never chose to reside there. He treated extremely well known and famous rulers, his first being Perdiccas II who was the King of Macedonia during this time. He was also known to have driven out a plague from Athens by causing large fires to be lit throughout the town because of observations he made of blacksmiths. He was praised by many great philosophers, one being Aristotle who referred to him as “The Great Hippocrates”. Hippocrates died at a late age in Thessaly and passed down his works to many other great physicians.
Up until this time, writings based on health were made by sophists, who were teachers of philosophy that classified cures to sicknesses as “pure luck”. Some philosophers did not believe in the need for medical assistance because, despite physicians best efforts, there were patients who still died. They also had doubt in the belief that physicians could truly treat patients because many of them refused to treat some illnesses (Phillips 39). However, Hippocrates had a completely different view. He saw medicine in a practical way. Hippocrates believed the idea was an intermediate to the act. He always led his theories to action and application. “Hippocrates may be said to have ‘separated Medicine from Philosophy’ by directing men’s minds away from the nebulous theories and unverified hypotheses of the early Ionian physical Cosmologists and by leading them to the observation of facts which must ever be the main foundation of medicine”(Moon 8). Through his thought processes, many believe that he initiated what is now known as the Inductive Method, which essentially is learning from observing processes in nature. In today’s society, modern medicine and even science use the Inductive reasoning which can indicate why Hippocrates is considered to be the father of medicine. His ideas were not only controversial but were also revolutionary. During the 5th century, healing’s were either due to divine power or pure luck which made cures abstract and also made physicians work ineffectual. Once Hippocrates introduced this innovative way of thinking, the idea of medicine and cures became much more concrete and led to many of his successors adopting his methods. One main method that Hippocrates stressed was curing patients as quickly and as simply possible.
From Hippocrates’s own maxim he used and encouraged “ the method of treatment that was the least elaborate”. This idea was unheard of and mostly disapproved of because most physicians during Hippocrates’s time attempted to create new technology in order to cure their patients and further medical advancements. According to Moon, Hippocrates was not trying to come up with the most “logical instrument most suitable for the attainment of truth” but rather he was curing patients that were under his care (Moon 12). He believed that if a physician is given two options for treatment, he should always choose the “least imposing or sensational; it was an act of deceit, he said, to dazzle the patient’s eyes by brilliant exhibitions of skin which might very well be dispensed with”. (Moon 10) Observing physical symptoms allowed Hippocrates to diagnose patients and treat them as quickly as possible. One instance that made Hippocrates stand out as one of the greatest physicians was when he drove out a plague from Athens. Hippocrates had observed the work of many blacksmiths and saw how they often used fire in order to purify metals. When he saw there was a disease coming towards Athens, Hippocrates used his observations of the blacksmiths and applied them to medicine. He started large fires across the town in order to purify the air and the epidemic was never able to infect the people. This was just one of many ways that Hippocrates used his philosophy of simple and quick methods in order to find a cure through mere observations which is an idea taught in the modern day scientific method. Hippocrates treated many patients and kept a record of his observations, treatments, and results. These writings and treatments were then used in order to educate many practitioners following him.
The final reason that Hippocrates has been considered to be the first true physician and the father of medicine is that he wrote down a set of rules for practitioners. Hippocrates views on sicknesses were extremely advanced for his time. Moon states, “He made Medicine a science distinct from all others, having its own principles and method of exposition and seeking in itself its principles of development.” (Moon 10). He saw diseases as “a single entity which develops through stages” (Smith 33). In order to properly give diagnoses, he would look at the patient's external symptoms in order to treat them. Hippocrates kept records of many of his procedures and treatments in order to use them in the future as a reference for future patients. In his writings, he would have word pictures of sick men with careful descriptions as to their appearances. He would write about the course of treatment he would put his patients on and the results. These writings were dead for about 200 years (Adams 1). Once they were found, the Hippocratic Corpus was created which has around 60 treatments. It is unknown whether or not he wrote all of the treatments in the corpus, however, they were all put under his name. Not only was a corpus created which contained Hippocrates’s own findings, an oath was also made under his name. This oath is called the Hippocratic Oath. The oath covers many ethical issues concerning the physician and the patient. Many physicians after Hippocrates were required to take the Hippocratic Oath in order to begin their practice which clearly illustrates how great of an impact Hippocrates had on medicine. The oath states “I will use my power to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgment; I will abstain from harming or wronging any man by it”(Chadwick 67). The oath also states how there will be privacy between the practitioner and the patient and how it is the practitioner's duty to keep whatever he hears or sees secret. Although physicians today do not have to recite the Hippocratic Oath, they still must take an oath that has characteristics derived from Hippocrates’ ideas. His respect for patients and desire to help people formed what is greatly valued by today’s doctors.
Although there were many great physicians before Hippocrates, he was the only one known to be the “father of medicine” and the first true physician. Hippocrates had a strong desire of becoming excellent at his craft which led him to travel far distances in order to learn from great physicians. His advanced treatments and unique way of thinking led many great philosophers to praise him and many to aspire to be like him. He used logic in order to encourage others to stray away from philosophy and use the mind in order to cure illnesses. Hippocrates cared more about curing his patients quickly rather than creating elaborate technology and treatments in order to impress them which he believed was deceit. He also created the idea that putting the patients well being first and respecting the duty of a physician is an essential characteristic a practitioner can have. For these reasons, it is evident that Hippocrates should be and is known as the “father of medicine” and the first real physician. Despite the fact that doctors today do not use his treatises and medical advancements have gone far beyond the ideas during the 5th century, Hippocrates’s philosophies have shaped the way modern medicine and scientific discoveries are used today.