Abstract
The book focuses on the unique character of medicine as a discipline embracing the realm of science and likewise of the humanities; a discipline rooted in the field of the universal and generally valid laws, which all at once faces the singular: the unique and unrepeatable personality of each patient - and of each doctor as well. The important aspects through which the theme is viewed are the following: the relationship between theory and therapy; between empathy and intuition on the one hand, and the "objective" methods of medical science on the other; and last but not least the tension between the realm of nature and the realm of culture.
As for a chronological scope, the studies span from the period of Hippocrates and his followers until today and the problems of contemporary medicine. Therefore, the book is inter-disciplinary, compounding the philosophical or anthropological point of view, the attitude of the history of medicine, of medical ethics, and also the viewpoint of medical practice.