Overview

Holistic Health and Biomedical Medicine outlines a new framework for social science research. Illustrated in an analysis of the American health care system, Lyng presents an empirical study of the relationship between medical knowledge and the social structure of medical practice in America. Through a synthesis of ideas from such diverse perspectives as classical Marxian theory and the medical model embraced by the holistic health movement, Lyng articulates a ""medical countersystem"" that is contrasted against the traditional biomedical model of medical practice. What results is an entirely unique Marxian analysis of the U.S. health care system, one that examines how the system evolved historically as well as describes several possibilities for the future of medicine in America.

Full Product Details

Author:   Stephen Lyng
Publisher:   State University of New York Press
Imprint:   State University of New York Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.372kg
ISBN:  

9780791402566

ISBN 10:   0791402568
Pages:   268
Publication Date:   27 August 1990
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Dialectical Sociology and the Countersystem Method 1: The Dialectical Paradigm The Dialectical Paradigm - The Negation of Positivism The Philosophy of Internal Relations Historical Roots The Core Elements of the Philosophy of Internal Relations 2: The Dialectical Theory of Society - Two Approaches The Scientific Dialectical Perspective The Praxis Dialectical Perspective 3: Fundamental Relations of the Social Crystal The Human Being/Social Structure Relation Relations Between Elements of the Social System Relations Between Knowledge and Social Structure Part II: A Countersystem Analysis of Medical Practice Introduction to Part II 4: The Medical Model of the Future: The Holistic Health Countersystem/Utopia Principle of Organization The Knowledge Dimension: Knowledge Content The Definition of Health The Role of Subjective Consciousness in Health Production The Source of Organic Disfunction Symptoms and Organic Disfunction Diagnosis of Organic Disfunction Normative Elements The Distribution of Medical Knowledge The Social Structural Dimension Micro Structure: The Patient-Practitioner Relationship Macro Structure: The Structure of Medical Practice Conclusions 5: The Traditional Medical Model The Medical Scientific Paradigm The Definition of Health The Role of Subjective Consciousness in Health Production The Nature of Organic Disfunction Diagnosis of Disease Response to Disease Treatment of Disease 6: The Structural Relations of Health Production The Distribution of Medical Knowledge The Health Production Process Interest Group Structure and the Traditional Medical Model Medical Practitioners The Owners of the Industrial Means of Production Bureaucratic Imperative Interrelations Between Interest Groups The Principle of Organization 7: Diachronic Analysis of Medical Practice The Evolution of Health Status The Evolution of Medical Knowledge Domestic Medicine The Transition to Heroic Medicine The Revival of Domestic Principles: Thomsonian Medicine The Challenge of Homeopathic Medicine The Rise of the Medical Scientific Model The Public Health Model: A New Form of Holism The Historical Evolution of Medical Practice 8: Emerging Trends: Back to the Future Who Will Control the Health Care System of the Future? 9: Epilogue Notes References Index

Reviews

"""More and more criticisms are being levelled at traditional, allopathic medicine but Lyng's work moves well beyond the normal parameter of criticism. It develops a good argument against positivism, the basic method of traditional medicine and uses the dialectic to present a convincing alternative using the basis of the Marxist approach to the sociology of knowledge. It is a significant and important contribution to the field."" - Derek G. Gill, University of Maryland-Baltimore County ""It is ambitious, creative, and upbeat in style and direction. Although dealing with serious theoretical issues, there is a clarity of thinking and a compelling logic that carries the reader along. I found myself reading it like a detective story at times in anticipation of the punch line."" - Kenneth J. Neubeck, University of Connecticut"

More and more criticisms are being levelled at traditional, allopathic medicine but Lyng's work moves well beyond the normal parameter of criticism. It develops a good argument against positivism, the basic method of traditional medicine and uses the dialectic to present a convincing alternative using the basis of the Marxist approach to the sociology of knowledge. It is a significant and important contribution to the field. - Derek G. Gill, University of Maryland-Baltimore County It is ambitious, creative, and upbeat in style and direction. Although dealing with serious theoretical issues, there is a clarity of thinking and a compelling logic that carries the reader along. I found myself reading it like a detective story at times in anticipation of the punch line. - Kenneth J. Neubeck, University of Connecticut

Author Information

Stephen Lyng is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University.

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