Integrating the humanities into medicine is urgent.

A few months ago, Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation First step Radiography for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HACS), and reveals the state of education in these areas, its research and academic production, and highlights how the capacities acquired through them will allow us to face complex and uncertain scenarios typical of our time such as migration, security, trust, climate, coexistence, diversity and equality.

In contrast to this perspective, statements by an economist urging the belittling and rejection of this knowledge were published, which provoked reactions from several academic figures who said: They stressed the importance of the humanities as an indispensable source for thinking about and addressing the challenges of the contemporary world..

For centuries, great thinkers have championed the importance of integrating the humanities with science. AristotleFor example, he developed texts on philosophy, metaphysics, ethics, logic, politics, aesthetics, rhetoric, physics, astronomy, and biology.

Closer to our time (1843), Andres BelloHe said in his speech at the opening of the University of Chile:The university, gentlemen, would not be worthy of a place among our social institutions, if (as some dark echoes of the old pronouncements complain) the patronage of science and literature could be regarded as dangerous from a moral, or from a political, point of view.”

Later, Bello confirmed that “All truths touch… from those that formulate the course of worlds in the sea of ​​space; from those that determine the fantastic agendas on which movement and life in the world of matter depend; from those that summarize the structure of the animal, the vegetable, and the inorganic mass on which we walk; from those that reveal the intimate phenomena of the soul in the theater of the mysterious consciousness, to those that express the actions and reactions of political powers; even those that lay the foundations of fixed morality; to those that determine the precise conditions for the development of industrial germs; even those that direct and fertilize the arts.“

This legacy confirms The importance of integrating the humanities into the training of health workers to better understand the human conditionAlthough current scientific-technical training is of a high standard, it does not answer all questions related to human suffering.

Dealing forever – in one’s chosen profession – with suffering is no easy task. How do we learn to deal with the uncertainties and mysteries of human life? How do we adapt to constant change? How do we balance an education focused on disease knowledge with thinking about issues of human suffering?

With these questions in mind, Valparaiso University’s Narrative Medicine Lab has embarked on a challenging project.It offers medical trainees the possibility of taking an optional intensive month aimed at understanding the human condition through literature, art, poetry, cinema and drawing, under the guidance of teachers, in a multidisciplinary environment.

This approach Integrates scientific technical knowledge with human wisdom.Because we consider it necessary to recognize that there is an irreplaceable human wealth in the diversity of knowledge. In this context we met javiera future colleague interested in these ideas, who points out:

“Exploring the medical and humanities has enriched my training and professional practice. Confronting the complexity of the human condition has led me to think about how the humanities can enrich and raise awareness of medical practice. Literature, poetry, philosophy, history, and art, among other disciplines, help us better understand the possibilities of our subjects, teach us to see patients as human beings with stories, emotions, fears, and dreams, and provide comprehensive and compassionate health care.

Literature, for example, provides stories that make it easier to understand pain and resilience from an intimate perspective. Reading authors such as Dostoyevsky, Camus, Hesse, and others has allowed me to explore the depths of my soul and prepare myself for difficult situations in clinical practice. Philosophy, for its part, challenges us to question our beliefs and values, and to reflect on the ethics of our medical decisions. History provides the context needed to understand people’s health, analyze public health patterns, and address contemporary challenges from an informed perspective. Visual arts and poetry allow us to find meaning in suffering and illness, as well as to explore and communicate abstract concepts in an accessible and emotionally resonant way, even in cases where physical and/or mental difficulties occur.

I believe that studying the humanities is essential to any profession that works for and with people. They teach us to accept complexity and deal with uncertainty and subjectivity. How to Write Theodor W. Adorno In negative dialectics, thought cannot be separated from what is thought, and dialectics, or the contrast of ideas, is the key to understanding this contradiction. “We must embrace the humanities as an essential element of our training so that we may become not only competent technicians but also well-rounded and compassionate human beings.”

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