Display options
Cite
Abettan C. From method to hermeneutics: which epistemological framework for narrative medicine?. Theor Med Bioeth. 2017;38(3):179-193doi: 10.1007/s11017-017-9408-x.
Abettan, C. (2017). From method to hermeneutics: which epistemological framework for narrative medicine?. Theoretical medicine and bioethics, 38(3), 179-193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11017-017-9408-x
Abettan, Camille. "From method to hermeneutics: which epistemological framework for narrative medicine?." Theoretical medicine and bioethics vol. 38,3 (2017): 179-193. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11017-017-9408-x
Abettan C. From method to hermeneutics: which epistemological framework for narrative medicine?. Theor Med Bioeth. 2017 Jun;38(3):179-193. doi: 10.1007/s11017-017-9408-x. PMID: 28501966.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

Theor Med Bioeth. 2017 Jun;38(3):179-193. doi: 10.1007/s11017-017-9408-x.

From method to hermeneutics: which epistemological framework for narrative medicine?.

Theoretical medicine and bioethics

Camille Abettan

Affiliations

  1. Center of Interdisciplinary Researches in Human and Social Sciences (CRISES, EA 4424), Paul-Valéry University, Rue du Professeur Henri Serre, 34090, Montpellier, France. [email protected].
  2. Espace Régional de Réflexion Éthique du Languedoc-Roussillon, Hôpital La Colombière, 39 Avenue Charles Flahault, 34295, Montpellier, France. [email protected].

PMID: 28501966 DOI: 10.1007/s11017-017-9408-x

Abstract

The past 10 years have seen considerable developments in the use of narrative in medicine, primarily through the emergence of the so-called narrative medicine. In this article, I question narrative medicine's self-understanding and contend that one of the most prominent issues is its lack of a clear epistemological framework. Drawing from Gadamer's work on hermeneutics, I first show that narrative medicine is deeply linked with the hermeneutical field of knowledge. Then I try to identify which claims can be legitimately expected from narrative medicine, and which ones cannot be. I scrutinize in particular whether narrative medicine can legitimately grasp the patient's lived experience of his or her illness. In the last section of this article, I begin to explore the potential usefulness of this epistemological clarification. This analysis allows for a further understanding of what is really at stake with narrative medicine, and thus to identify when it may be convenient, and when it may not. Furthermore, this clarification opens up promising new possibilities of dialogue with critics of the field. I conclude that narrative medicine finds its proper place as a possible tool available to mediate dialogue, which is at the heart of the clinical encounter in medical practice.

Keywords: Epistemology; Gadamer; Hermeneutics; Narrative medicine; Personalized medicine

References

  1. Theor Med Bioeth. 2000;21(2):171-89 - PubMed
  2. Perspect Biol Med. 2008 Summer;51(3):406-17 - PubMed
  3. Theor Med. 1986 Jun;7(2):195-210 - PubMed
  4. Theor Med. 1990 Mar;11(1):9-24 - PubMed
  5. Acad Med. 2004 Apr;79(4):351-6 - PubMed
  6. Can Fam Physician. 2007 Aug;53(8):1265-7 - PubMed
  7. Theor Med. 1985 Oct;6(3):243-55 - PubMed
  8. Theor Med. 1990 Mar;11(1):25-8 - PubMed
  9. Perspect Biol Med. 2013 Autumn;56(4):611-9 - PubMed
  10. Med Humanit. 2011 Dec 1;37(2):73-8 - PubMed
  11. Theor Med. 1994 Jun;15(2):149-80 - PubMed
  12. N Engl J Med. 2004 Feb 26;350(9):862-4 - PubMed
  13. Lancet. 2008 Jan 26;371(9609):296-7 - PubMed
  14. J Med Philos. 1986 May;11(2):167-78 - PubMed
  15. Perm J. 2008 Winter;12(1):88-96 - PubMed
  16. Lancet. 2009 Jun 6;373(9679):1940-1 - PubMed
  17. JAMA. 2001 Oct 17;286(15):1897-902 - PubMed
  18. Presse Med. 2013 Jan;42(1):3-5 - PubMed

MeSH terms

Publication Types