Page 86 - Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring

f r o M ca ra t i v e f a c to r 2 t o C a r i t a s P r o C e s s 2
As noted in the original text (Watson 1979), the therapeutic (heal-
ing) effects of faith-hope have been documented throughout history.
Hippocrates thought an ill person’s mind and soul should be inspired
before the illness was treated. Aristotle was aware that the theater had
a therapeutic effect on a person who became involved with perfor-
mance and drama. Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, was often
pictured with his two daughters—Hygeia, the goddess of health, and
Panacea, the goddess of healing. Hygeia guarded health through self-
discipline and a good environment; Panacea used drugs and manipu-
lations to heal (Ackerknecht 1968:xvii). Panacea has continuing mean-
ings associated with cures for ills and difficulties; the panacea effect is
commonly referred to when one cannot explain the direct cause of
cures and improvement in a patient’s health.
In ancient Egypt, the priest and the physician were the same per-
son. For many centuries Egyptian medicine was closely associated
with religion and faith.
Faith and hope have traditionally been important in treatment
to relieve the symptoms of illness; medicine itself was secondary to
magic, incantations, spells, and prayers. Miracles of faith appear often
in the Bible, as well as in more recent times. The role of prayer has
taken on both scientific and spiritual meaning, offering hope and faith
to millions around the world every day in many life situations.
New explanations of and research on prayer, distant healing, and
related phenomena of faith and hope, previously unexplained in con-
ventional medicine, are taking on new dimensions through the work
of Larry Dossey and others in the medical and religious communities
(Dossey 1993). Other related studies are increasingly being replicated,
making a strong case for the role of healing words and belief in prayer,
locally or at a distance. This work on prayer and healing words is con-
sistent with ancient and even modern practices of treatment through
suggestion, power of thoughts, visualization, imagery, and belief that
transcends time and science.
Other ancient approaches to treatment and cures, such as the
Babylonians’ astrological approach, were also based on supernatural
explanations of the causes of and cures for disease and illness. We still
see evidence of soul retrieval, chants, and other devices used to call off

63