Review of The Virtuous Physician

[Prudence Katunasa]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Virtuous Physician" by Elliott B. Martin, Jr..]

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2 out of 5 stars

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Elliott B. Martin, Jr. covers the moral philosophy of physicians in his book, The Virtuous Physician. When looking at the history of medical ethics, one can see how the Hippocratic Oath played a major role. We see the gradual evolution of the role of the physician, and how the practice of medicine went from being religious/spiritual to reason based. We also see how the term “physician” came into existence. Religion, linguistics, Greek mythology, the Hippocratic Oath, and other topics are covered throughout the book, as well as the translation of the Precepts.

I found it interesting how languages are interconnected and that when you’re speaking one language, you’re speaking other languages, as many words derive from several languages. This goes to show that ancient languages or languages deemed as “lost” are still prevalent today.

As a lover of history, anatomy, and ethics in general, I thought I would enjoy this book. The constant jabs directed towards the current generation was quite off-putting for me. I also did not like the writer’s style. The author used overly elaborate language. By doing this, the message of the book couldn’t be communicated effectively. The first chapter made up the bulk of the book, which I didn’t like. Additionally, the sentences were lengthy, with the author adding additional information in parentheses, commas and dashes in between sentences. There was also a lack of clarity in some sentences, with the author coming across as confused.

My overall impression of this book is that it was quite tedious and incomprehensible. For a short book with a few chapters, the information was excessive. My brain felt overstimulated. Too many separate ideas were formed, with little connections and no conclusion. However, I did find the discussion on linguistics interesting. I did not come across many errors. All in all, I give this book a rating of 2 out of 5 stars.

This book is for those who have an in-depth knowledge and interest in history, linguistics and medical philosophy.

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The Virtuous Physician
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