Towards a Medical Aesthetic and its Performative Nature
- Authors
- Type
- Published Article
- Journal
- Journal of Medical Humanities
- Publisher
- Springer-Verlag
- Publication Date
- Sep 25, 2014
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 439–441
- Identifiers
- DOI: 10.1007/s10912-014-9307-3
- Source
- Springer Nature
- Keywords
- License
- Yellow
Abstract
Beyond the techniques and instruments it employs, medicine has an intrinsic value that enables it to be interpretative, dramatic, and above all, real. In this essay, the aesthetic that emerges through the medical examination is thoroughly discussed. The piece deconstructs the qualities of the medical examination in a manner that facilitates medical practice to be perceived as an art form. The signifiers found in a medical diagnosis and its aesthetic consequences are reviewed. The nature of the diagnosis positions medical practice as a dramatic art.