Review and Comment
Professional Comment on WHERE MEDICINE FAILS
Andrew Weil, M.D.:
"Where Medicine Fails is the best account I have seen of the historical evolution of Cartesian thinking and the hopeless corner into which it has led modern medicine. In her incisive analysis… Carol McMahon argues that where medicine fails is not in its mechanics or details but in its philosophical core… As a physician who teaches students about medical history and philosophy, I could not agree more…
McMahon identifies “mind-body dualism” as the main theoretical problem in modern medicine and traces it back to the 17th-century French philosopher Rene Descartes… McMahon is quite right to say that only a sweeping theoretical revolution can save medicine…" (Complete review below.)
Jeanne Achterberg, Ph.D.:
"The material in Dr. McMahon's book forms a vital part of the evolution of scientific awareness...
In a masterful fashion, Dr. McMahon draws upon facts from history, biology, psychology and physics… to support her thesis. She presents sufficient evidence to shake the foundations of medicine, if it were to be confronted clearly…"
Elmer Green, Ph.D.:
"This book should be read by everyone involved in the holistic movement, behavioral medicine, biofeedback and the self-regulation disciplines… It reveals the origins of the current predicament of discontinuity between intuitive knowledge and the dictates of rational science."
Niels Birbaumer, Ph.D.:
"The author convincingly argues that neither modern materialistic approaches to medicine nor mentalistic-psychosomatic theory will explain the ability of people to regulate their bodily functions through non-physical means…"
Martin Rossman, M.D.:
"Dr McMahon hits the bull’s-eye… Where Medicine Fails exposes the limitations of dualism in medicine and opens the door to the possibility of a more enlightened view of human nature and healing."
Walter B. Weimer, Ph.D.:
"McMahon’s Where Medicine Fails is a cogent indictment of the Cartesian dualism undergirding medical thought… required reading for not only medical practitioners but everyone working in the health-related professions in which we face problems of the whole person."
William J. Ray, Ph.D.:
"This fascinating exploration of how we have divided ourselves only to be conquered and confused by or own division...
Dr. McMahon has done a beautiful job showing us that the study of modern medicine can be seen as a case study in the psychology of ideas… We come to see that distinctions made early in our science require a reformulation such that modern scientific discoveries can be integrated... In her carefully researched and fun to read discussion of disease, Dr. McMahon further shows us our all too human tendency to sweep under the rug of scientific understanding all that we cannot explain by our current models."
Janice L. Hastrup, Ph.D.:
"McMahon’s approach suggests a fundamental rethinking of the traditional mind-body dualism… a paradigm for conceptualizing health beyond attempts at ‘holism.’"
Andrew J. Cannistraci, D.D.S.:
"I shook my head in agreement while reading this most important book. Modern medicine, dentistry and other health professions seem to have lost sight of the ideal concept of treating the whole person. This book is a long needed reminder and should be read by all health professionals…"
Reader Comment:
Norman Cousins:
I felt deeply rewarded by the book. It was beautifully balanced and ought to have a useful effect on the profession.
Complete Andrew Weil Review
More to Come