Getting out the Vagueness of Medicine:The Four English Names for Disease  

作　　者：Antonino Drago Sergio Maradei 

机构地区：[1]University“Federico II”of Naples,Napoli,Italy [2]Associazione Omeopatia Mediterranea SFERHA,Napoli,Italy

出　　处：《US-China Education Review(A)》2024年第9期566-576,共11页美中教育评论（A）

摘　　要：By scrutinizing literature,vocabularies,and encyclopedias on the subject we have found out that current English speaking presents four different names for a same substantial notion.From etymological dictionaries,in particular,we can reconstruct the period of insertion of each term into current language and the frequency of use in circulating literature,to highlight a certain historical evolution of the first three terms in dependence on the cultural framework of reference.We recognize a progressive specialization of the context of use,especially over the last two centuries.“Illness”was the traditional term from 1,680 onwards;it represents the subjective viewpoint of the patient accepting the doctor’s analysis.But during the 19th century,scientific,experimental medicine was hegemonic and replaced it by“disease”,representing the viewpoint of the trained doctor by academic medicine,hence an objective result of medicine’s scientific progress.During the 20th century,however,to illness it was commonly attributed also a subjective experience;therefore,disease again became more recurrent.In the same years the term“sickness”was recovered,to describe the concept from the viewpoint of society through its public health institutions.“Un-healthiness”has perhaps remained as the residue of a primordial past,today little valued by the healthcare structure,yet representing a global viewpoint;it expresses the illness experienced personally as a problem of the person with his relationships,so that the cause of the disease is not considered a single and direct one,but may be the result of the interaction of multiple factors.The patient assumes a disease as a personal problem from its beginning to its end;he expresses the subjective point of view as the relationship of the disease with one’s entire life(personal and associative)and takes into consideration the environmental and social components of the disease process;he therefore subjects the external scientific evaluation to his personal evaluations.These four

关 键 词：DISEASE illness SICKNESS un-healthiness two dichotomies two etiological attitudes two therapeutic attitudes 

分 类 号：H31[语言文字—英语]