Abstract
In November of 1959, William Bean published in the Archives of Internal Medicine a scathing review of Félix Martí-Ibañez’s Centaur: Essays on the History of Medical Ideas. Martí-Ibañez and Bean were two of the leading exponents of the importance of medical humanism during a formative period from the 1950s through the 1970s. But the two physicians differed fundamentally in their views of the ideal relationships among the pharmaceutical industry, the medical profession, and the medical humanities. We situate Bean’s review within its historical context, shedding light on the history and diverging uses of the medical humanities.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anon. 1955. “Dr. Félix Martí-Ibañez Presented with the Order of Carlos J. Finlay.” Antibiotics and Chemotherapy 5:105–6.
Anon. 1956. “The First Franz Groedel Lecture.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 11:355.
Barnard, David. 1998. “The Coevolution of Bioethics and the Medical Humanities with Palliative Medicine, 1967–1997.” Journal of Palliative Medicine 1:187–193.
Bean, William B, editor.. 1950. Aphorisms [of Sir William Osler, 1848–1919]. New York: H. Schuman.
Bean, William B. 1955. “Vitamania, Polypharmacy, and Witchcraft.” Archives of Internal Medicine 96:137–41.
Bean, William B. 1956. “Some Musings on Reviewing Medical Books.” Archives of Internal Medicine 97:497–501.
Bean, William B. 1957. “Books.” Archives of Internal Medicine 100:513–6.
Bean, William B. 1958. “A Critique of Criticism in Medicine and the Biological Sciences in 1958.” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 1:224–32.
Bean, William B. 1959a. “Joint Responsibility.” Archives of Internal Medicine 103:681–5.
Bean, William B. 1959b. “Review of Centaur: Essays on the History of Medicine.” Archives of Internal Medicine 104:839–40.
Bean, William B. 1962. “The Humanities in Medicine: The Medical and Scientific Significance of the Seemingly Small, Trivial, and Insignificant.” American Journal of Cardiology 9:1–11.
Bogdan, Herman A. 1993. “Félix Martí-Ibañez – Iberian Daedalus: The Man Behind the Essays.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 86:593–6.
Castagnoli, William G. 1999. Medicine Avenue: The Story of Medical Advertising in America. Huntington, NY: Medical Advertising Hall of Fame.
Clifton, James A. 1991. “Memorial: William Bennett Bean.” Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association 102: xlviii-lii.
Crawford, William M. 1959. “Review of Centaur: Essays on the History of Medicine.” Texas State Journal of Medicine 55:776.
Elkin, Daniel C. 1952. “A Case for the Study of the Humanities in the Making of a Doctor.” Annals of Surgery 136:337–344.
FMIP: Félix Martí-Ibañez papers, MS 1235, Yale University Library, Manuscripts and Archives.
Greene, Jeremy A., and Scott H. Podolsky. 2009. “Keeping Modern in Medicine: Pharmaceutical Promotion and Physician Education in Postwar America.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 83: 331–77.
Martí-Ibañez, Félix. 1954a. “Medical Humanities: The Artist as a Physician: Medical Philosophy in the Renaissance.” International Record of Medicine 167:221–42.
Martí-Ibañez, Félix. 1954b.“On a New Concept of Medical Journalism.” International Record of Medicine 167:243–4.
Martí-Ibañez, Félix. 1955a. “In Quest of the Broad Spectrum: Some Philosophic Perspectives of Antibiotics.” International Record of Medicine 168:103–10.
Martí-Ibañez, Félix. 1955b. “Books in the Physician’s Life.” International Record of Medicine 168:650–71.
Martí-Ibañez, Félix. 1955c. “On Treating the Whole Patient.” Antibiotic Medicine 1:247–50.
Martí-Ibañez, Félix. 1956. “The Next Half Century in Antibiotic Medicine and its Effect on the History of the Clinical Case History.” Antibiotic Medicine and Clinical Therapy 3:50–64.
Martí-Ibañez, Félix. 1956–1957. “Antibiotics and the Problem of Medical Communication.” Antibiotics Annual: 4–14.
Martí-Ibañez, Félix. 1957. Editor’s Message. MD 1 (Preview Issue, January): 3.
Martí-Ibañez, Félix. 1958a. “Introduction: A Man and his Thoughts: A Confidence.” In Centaur: Essays on the History of Medical Ideas, xi. New York: MD Publications, Inc.
Martí-Ibañez, Félix. 1958b. “Sigerist and Spain.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 13:244–50.
Martí-Ibañez, Félix. 1960. “To Be a Doctor.” MD 4 (November): 13–14.
May, Charles. 1961. “Selling Drugs by ‘Educating’ Physicians.” Journal of Medical Education 36:1–23.
McFadyen, Richard. 1979. “The FDA’s Regulation and Control of Antibiotics in the 1950s: The Henry Welch Scandal, Félix Martí-Ibañez, and Charles Pfizer and Co.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 53:159–69.
MFP: Maxwell Finland papers, H MS c153, Harvard Medical Library in the Francis A. Countway Medical Library.
Osler, William. 1919. “The Old Humanities and the New Science.” British Medical Journal 2:1–7.
Podolsky, Scott H. 2010. “Antibiotics and the Social History of the Controlled Clinical Trial, 1950–1970.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 65:327–67.
Rosen, George. 1948. “The Place of History in Medical Education.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 22:594–629.
Rosen, George. 1958. A History of Public Health. New York: M.D. Publications.
Scardino, Peter L. 1960. “Review of Centaur: Essays on the History of Medical Ideas.” Journal of the Medical Association of Georgia 49 (October): 521–2.
Snow, Charles Percy. 1959. Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Van Wyck, H.B. 1951. “The Role of the Humanities in Medical Education.” Canadian Medical Association Journal 64:254–260.
Warner, John Harley. 2011. “The Humanizing Power of Medical History: Responses to Biomedicine in the 20th Century United States.” Medical Humanities 37:91–96.
WBBP: William Bennett Bean papers, MS C 403, National Library of Medicine.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Podolsky, S.H., Greene, J.A. Are the Medical Humanities for Sale? Lessons from a Historical Debate. J Med Humanit 37, 355–370 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-014-9301-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-014-9301-9