Wisdom in Medical Practice

Abstract

This chapter introduces the notion of wisdom in medicine. It does so by presenting a hypothetical clinical case and exploring the approach that a wise physician might take in dealing with the case. The literary device of a foil is used to highlight the characteristics of wisdom. The foil is a humanoid social robot equipped with artificial intelligence. The author argues that the contingent quality of medical practice, as well as its focus on a unique subject (i.e., a singular patient) makes practical reasoning exceptionally well adapted to clinical work. Practical reasoning requires consummate perceptive abilities, a thorough consideration of the particulars of a case, and the ability to deliberate, including in ethical domains. A person who excels in practical reasoning deploys unique ways of knowing, doing, and being; in traditional Aristotelian philosophy this constellation is referred to as the virtue of phronesis. The chapter ends by describing features of practical wisdom that have been revealed in empirical studies of medicine. It proposes the term “clinical phronesis” to describe this capability.

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