Medical Anthropology

Big words describing possibly one of the worst courses i've taken thus far in my university career. Well, actually, it's not that bad a class, I just didn't like how much stuff this guy was pumping us about Western (or cosmopolitan as Frederick Dunn puts it) Medicine is bull, and science merely an ideology. Classes like this one cause students to question their beliefs. For example, in my Introductory Anthropology class last year, our prof got us to the point where we (the students) would question why we didn't have these "innovative and advanced" practices - don't follow? It's called 'Cultural Relativism'. The term means that every practice and belief can only be looked at relative to its own cultural evironment, and comparison is basically impossible.
Allow cultural relativism to come into the medical anthropology field, and you can justify why nearly any barbaric or life threatening health practice might be employed. Why not, right? Being a healer doesn't need to mean that the patient gets better - after all, what does healing mean, anyway? And what is health?
Med Anth looks at questions like the following:

• what is the sick role?
  
• how does one take on a sick role?
• who takes on the sick role?
  
• who is the healer?
• how does one become a healer?
• what does the healer do?
• what is health?
• what differentiates illness from disease?
• how do are illness and disease codified in different cultures?

This is all find and dandy; however, it oversimplifies the situation. Granted, western medicine is not perfect, and we do need to adjust our medical system to allow for other elements to penetrate - I'll get to these things in a second; however, what gives the right to a group to create an entire profession (yeah, you can get full out DEGREES in med anth) at the expense of another?
Now, I guess I should look at everything with a bit of a keener eye and remember that this is an introductory course where the prof is trying to recruit students into his program; nevertheless, the injustice being done is dispicable. Why is it that we, as westerners, cannot criticize any other group of people, yet we have to create jobs for people that want to criticize us? These same individuals who will preach about the inadequacies of western med will go to their family doctor when they have the flu, or get into a car accident, or have cancer! (since most of us will have cancer at least a couple of times in our lives)
I guess my question of the day is this: qui a raison? who's right? (sorry, it doesn't really translate... just be happy that I don't have the keyboard to type in farsi!) In an increasingly globalized world, if society is going to look at other medical systems and say "hey, he didn't have to go to university for 10 years, and look at him! He's the village shaman, and he can do anything from performing coming of age rites to fighting the gods in his head and curing his patients!" and thereby reject our medical doctors, who do dehumanize - and they're working on that! - and have been known to make mistakes (quit expecting that doctors will fight gods for you, they can't - that requires lots of drugs, and well, a malpractice suit), then what good is it to be a doctor? (I'm in biochemistry, which well, in the line of work I'm going pursue, will mean working very closely with doctors)
The Baha'i writings call for a melange of spiritual and physical healing. 'Abdu'l-Baha says:

"There are two ways of healing sickness, material means and spiritual means. The first is by the use of remedies, of medicines; the second consists in praying to God and in turning to Him. Both means should be used and practiced.

Illness caused by physical accident should be treated with medical remedies; those which are due to spiritual causes disappear through spiritual means. Thus an illness caused by affliction, fear, nervous impressions, will be healed by spiritual rather than by physical treatment. Hence, both kinds of remedies should be considered. Moreover, they are not contradictory, and thou shouldst accept the physical remedies as coming from the mercy and favor of God, who hath revealed and made manifest medical science so that His servants may profit from this kind of treatment also. Thou shouldst give equal attention to spiritual treatments, for they produce marvelous effects.

Now, if thou wishest to know the divine remedy which will heal man from all sickness and will give him the health of the divine kingdom, know that it is the precepts and teachings of God. Guard them sacredly."

Anyway, let me know your thoughts - whether they be about this topic or not... I'd love to hear from you!