Great Construction

What Medical Science Should Provide

     The following is part of the August 25, 1948, “Jottings” column in the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper.
     “Most everyone knows that doctors do not care to treat members of their own families. This is because they are afraid they will make a wrong diagnosis.”
     This is all there was to the statement, but upon reflection, a matter of importance lurks beneath this observation. In our work we often hear about this situation, and it shows that medical science has no scientific validity whatsoever. It is believed that medical science has progressed, but there are probably very few persons who think that medical science has gone beyond the bounds of science. That a doctor might make a misdiagnosis because the patient is a family member shows that medical science has no scientific validity. Indeed, diagnosis based on emotion should be considered highly dangerous. If medical science were reliable, should not doctors feel unease at the thought of others doctors looking at their relatives and not want to diagnose them themselves? Maintenance of standards is a prerequisite of science, so even if doctors do not go out of their way to look at family members, they should be able to give the same diagnosis to strangers as well as family members. It seems that the diagnostic methods in medical science, which is supposed to be so advanced, are conspicuously unreliable. It cannot be denied that diagnoses made on such a basis are akin to having one’s future told by a fortuneteller. No condemnation of medical science is intended, but I make these statements because my conclusions seem to be the logical result of consideration of the above situation no matter how these facts are interpreted.
     From what I understand, of all the diseases and conditions in the world, medical science as of today has yet to determine the cause of the slight but most prevalent illness, the common cold. When the issue of diagnosis and the problem of the common cold are collectively pondered, I would probably not be alone in thinking that medical science has not advanced to the extent that the public should trust it as they do. Therefore, it is sufficient that doctors come to be able to diagnose their own family members and medical science should at least clarify the cause of the common cold. Surely reaching such goals as soon as possible is not too much to expect from the progress of medical science.

 Chijôtengoku, Issue 2, March 1, 1949, page 10.
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