What really makes you ill?
“Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to
cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know
nothing.”
Voltaire (1694 – 1778)
The idea encapsulated in this quote will no doubt be regarded by most
people as inapplicable to 21st century healthcare, especially the system
known as modern medicine.
The reason that people would consider this idea to no longer be relevant
is likely to be based on the assumption that ‘medical science’ has made
significant advances since the 18th century and that 21st century
doctors therefore possess a thorough, if not quite complete, knowledge
of medicines, diseases and the human body.
Unfortunately, however, this would be a mistaken assumption; as our talk
will demonstrate.
