Other
Where do we draw the line? Taboos in medicine through time
Blaž Podgoršek
; Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Institute of the History of Medicine, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Gregor Lakner
; Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Institute of the History of Medicine, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Zvonka Zupanič Slavec
; Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Institute of the History of Medicine, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract
A white paper with four straight edges, something you can find in any office. Sharply defined and easily comprehensible. But how about something more complicated like a human being, medicine, society. We are in the era where these three words have come closer to each other than ever before. Medicine is being pushed to the limit and while it produces some startling and lifesaving answers, it also opposes us with a lot of hard questions. Have you ever walked the streets of your town encounterig a person and wondering whether it was a he or a she or were equally surprised by their appearance? (Change of sex, cosmetic surgery). Are we humans really so selfish that we exploit others for their organs, when on the other hand we are not willing to donate ours? (Transplantation). What is a doctor really, a god or merely a human? (Artificial insemination). Are we still adopting because we cannot conceive a child and wish one or is it more because it’s the trend? (Adoption). We are forced to think anew
who we are, who the people around us are and where the truth lies hidden. This presentation will try to push you to the limit and confront you with some of the questions we face in the 21st century medicine.
Keywords
taboos in medicine; sex change; cosmetic surgery; transplantation; artificial insemination; adoption
Hrčak ID:
134789
URI
Publication date:
1.12.2014.
Visits: 1.632 *