The oath of the Hippocratic physician as an Indo-european formula

Miguel Bedolla

Resumen


The oath of physicians (orkos) is an indo-European formula reflecting the beliefs of this culture. It was written when the authority of the Indo-European worldview was declining. To support this thesis the paper shows that: (1) the Greeks were Indo-Europeans; (2) Indo-Europeans had a world vision that understood the cosmos as a society of gods and men, whose activities were grouped in three functions: Priests-lawyers, warriors and husbandmen. (3) Harmony in this society was maintained by rta, a force that set up a field of tension that aligned all ideas; (4) Rta demanded that gods and men be bound by the Principle of Reciprocity and Exchange creating a true friendship between them; (5) Each function had its own gods and responsibilities and its own brand of medicine; (6) Each Indo-European god has an equivalent among the Greek gods, and in particular those mentioned in the Oath; (7) The commitments in the oath are those of two of the Indo-European functions; (8) The oath ends with a formula that is Indo-European. The paper concludes with a reflection on the conditions that led to the writing of the oath, and what this meant for the faith of the people.

 

Key words: Orkos, Hippocratic oath, Indo-European worldview, rta, Principle of Reciprocity and Exchange, history of medicine, medical ethics.

 


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Referencias


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