Progress of Rational Medicine

Abstract

SIR CHARLES HASTINGS, founder of the British Medical Association, was a native of Worcester, and part of the centenary meetings of the Association took the form of a visit to Worcester on July 24 and a commemorative service in the Cathedral, with a sermon by Dr. E. W. Barnes, Bishop of Birmingham. Dr. Barnes's text was?Honour a physician with the honour due unto him? (Ecclesiasticus, xxxviii. 1). Modern science and medicine began with the publication by Copernicus of his heliocentric astronomy and the production by Vesalius of his work on the anatomy of the human body. Nearly four centuries have passed since then, and the human mind, freed from the shackles of medieval authority, has advanced at an ever-increasing rate. Great progress has been made in medicine and science, and the?new biology exhilarates by its possibilities?? advance along present lines gives visions of a great measure of immunity from disease and a finer race of men than the earth has yet known. Progress depends, however, in medicine as in science, on the unprejudiced search for truth, on original investigation. During the nineteenth century, conditions became increasingly favourable for medical research, until now it is well organised and receives State support. But what of the future? Dr. Barnes fears that we are not yet safe from religious reaction. New aspects of truth often bewilder and arouse instinctive opposition, which in turn invokes religious sanctions. Pseudo-religious prejudice opposes eugenic measures, as dissection and vaccination were opposed in the past, and faith cures may be associated with impatience of the sufferer with half-won knowledge. Social leaders, religious teachers, scientific workers, and medical men must join in emphasising that man has been endowed with his rational powers in order that he may discover the truth. Science is dynamic, and our faith, likewise, is the more inspiring because it also is dynamic.